


Chosen

by SongsOfApollo



Category: Assassin's Creed, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Norse Religion & Lore, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Asgard, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, POV Third Person, Reader-Insert, Sexual Content, Slow Build, Vanaheim, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-10 17:01:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 41
Words: 135,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4400066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SongsOfApollo/pseuds/SongsOfApollo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>If you were to sit down and tell someone your story, would it be Loki? Would he be the person that you would allow to learn everything about you? All your secrets, your mistakes, your family and friends, what occurred within the order? Would you be willing to spill your hidden history and desires to someone who could very easily use it against you?</i>
</p><p>You're a highly trained assassin who has made a new life in Asgard. But that doesn't mean you let your talents go to waste. During a mission to steal a piece of King Odin's property, you come across a familiar prince who has taken interest in your abilities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A few things to know before reading:  
> 1\. The reader is heavily based on the Assassin's Creed franchise! So if you're familiar with AC you'll definitely recognize some things. :)  
> 2\. These are the robes that you wear. Ignore the hair, as that would be tucked in. Again AC inspired. ^.^ I didn't draw this, so credit goes to the artist!  
> http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad141/sasorigalfan/270px-Female_Assassin_zpsa7d4fe9e.jpg
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :)

Crouching on the edge of a building, you observed the city surrounding you. The light coming from the city’s buildings sparkled against the night of the sky. A golden palace is seen off in the distance, standing out from all the other buildings, a stark contrast against the horizon. 

A few small puddles were scattered along the streets of the city, leftover from the rain that had come down during the day. The rain had also caused the different smells of the city to become stronger than usual, heightened by the fresh moisture in the air. You took a deep breath, inhaling your favorite scent of the fresh rain before jumping down into a hidden alleyway. It was adjacent to the street which contained your prize. A prize unfortunately hidden away in a guarded building.

Keeping your back against the concrete alleyway wall, you advanced slowly and quietly through the shadows. As you reached the end of the ally, you pressed your back further against the wall and took a deep breath. You fingered a throwing knife that was tucked in your belt and gradually pulled it out by its handle. You craned your neck out of the alleyway looking over your shoulder into the large darkened street, searching. 

The only light provided was that of the flickering street lamps, which was not sufficient enough to see your targets. There were piles of shipping crates scattered randomly throughout, as well as dozens of pillars lining either side of the street casting shadows where the light should have reached. You figured that the guards would be using these shadows to their advantage. You returned your head back to the dark alleyway.

You closed your eyes and inhaled deeply through your nose, focusing your senses so that any unnecessary stimuli wouldn’t distract you. You exhaled and opened your eyes. The environment had faded away in a grey blur, anything with a pulse would soon come into sharp focus. You craned your neck around the corner for a second time, only now you could see all of your intended targets with your sixth sense. You quickly surveyed the area and memorized where each guard was. You counted seven in total with five of them being on the ground. Two were by the door and three were scattered in front of them, more off to the sides. The final two guards were on top of the buildings on either side of the street, holding an unfamiliar weapon. You took one final breath and returned back to your normal senses.

Crouching, you quickly ran to one of the many stacks of crates located in the road. You removed two of your throwing knifes, placing one in each hand. You stepped out of the left side of the crates, quickly took your aim and flicked your wrist, releasing the first knife. The weapon had struck the guard directly in the side of his neck. You then spun to the other side of the crates, transferring the second knife to your dominant hand and repeated the process again with the second guard.

You slipped back behind your cover while you carefully listened to see if the guards below them had heard what happened. You smirked to yourself and gave yourself a mini congratulations. The guards below hadn’t noticed a thing.

Your brain went through a dozen different attack strategies for the remaining five guards. You couldn’t attack them head on as they would alert for more reinforcements. Which if enough guards were sent, could very well cause you to fail your mission. You could try picking them off from above, but you knew you wouldn’t get all five before they figured something was up and they would, again, send for reinforcements. 

You eventually decided that if the guards wanted to use the shadows to their advantage, then so would you. You made sure the guards were facing at an angle that would prevent them from seeing you before you made your move. You ran to the right of the crates to the nearest pillar. The first guard was about 3 pillars in front of you. Your feet ghosted across the ground as you snuck up to the guard, using the shadows and pillars to block any movement he might see. Within seconds, you had reached the guard without him noticing a thing. 

He was only a few inches taller than you, making what you were about to do a lot easier. You quickly wrapped your right arm around his head, placing the inside of your elbow against his mouth and your palm on the back of his head. At the same time, you used your other arm to wrap around his throat. Using both arms you pulled the guard behind the pillar restricting his airway and keeping his struggles muffled. Within seconds the guard was knocked out and you laid him against the column of stone. 

You peered from the side of your new hiding spot at your next two targets. They were located on the other side of the road, one angled to the entrance of the street and one facing you. Unknowingly, he looked you directly in eyes, the shadow of the pillar blocking out your existence. 

Your brain began going through different attack strategies again. If you threw something at these guards, the two men in front of the door may see it and cause open conflict, an outcome that could ruin your mission. The more you thought about it the more you started to get frustrated. _Fuck it _, you thought. You were going to take that chance as it was the fastest and most efficient strategy.__

You slipped off a blowpipe that was slung on your back and took two darts out of one of your pouches that hung from your hip. The darts were incredibly small, but extremely lethal. They were laced with a poison that put them to sleep instantly, but killed them slowly. Those who’ve been hit never feel a thing. You did find a downside to using the darts though, as they could cause your target to be loud when falling after they’ve been hit.

You loaded both darts into the pipe and placed one end against your mouth, aiming for the first guard. You were going to have to be fast, hitting both before one of them notices something is happening. You tuned in your sixth sense for a second time for better accuracy. The surrounding area once against faded and all you could focus on were the two guards. They were standing approximately six feet apart and your brain quickly calculated the angle of your aim for both guards.

You pushed your first breath in a big huff through the blowpipe, expelling the first lethal dart. While the dart was flying through the air towards its target, you swiveled your weapon and adjusted the angle. You pushed a second breath into the tube, releasing the second dart. Both darts reached their targets at almost the exact same time but unfortunately, had different effects. 

The first target had dropped instantly and noiselessly. A success. The second guard however was the problem. While the first dart went smoothly in between the armor and into the guard’s neck, the second dart missed its target by fractions of an inch and had lodged itself into his golden armor rather than his flesh.

You froze. _Oh shit _, you thought. The guard turned his head towards the shadows in which you were standing. He narrowed his eyes and pulled the dart out of his armor. He raised his arm in the air and dropped the dart to the ground. “We’ve got an intruder here, boys!” the guard yelled to the remaining two guards while sliding his sword out of its sheath.__

“I’ll sound the alarm!” one of the guards by the door yelled. You heard his footsteps fade as he ran off. You wished that you could do the same but you couldn’t just abandon your mission. This was too important. You dreaded heading into an open conflict like this, wasting all your earlier stealth precautions, but at this point you had few options. 

You slung your blowpipe back over your shoulder. You placed your hands up, palms facing forward and slowly waked out of the shadows. Your plan was to try to get as close as possible to the guards by trying to seem innocent. That way you would have an opening for an attack before they could get to you first. 

The guard that you had hit with the dart was much bulkier than you had first estimated. He had more of a brutish stature; his size almost double that of the other guards you had taken out. For a brief second you wondered if the poison in the dart would even had been enough. 

The second guard that was originally stationed at the door walked up with his sword raised. You noticed that he was much taller and thinner than his other comrades as he stopped to the right of the bulky guard.

“Hello gentlemen. Lovely night tonight, isn’t it? A little wet from the rain though,” you said, trying to put on the sweetest voice you could manage, bringing the pitch up a little higher than you normally spoke. Their eyes had widened when you had stepped out the shadows. The guards briefly glanced at each other and looked back at you. 

“A wo-woman?” the guard on the right stuttered. A nerve was struck inside of your chest. You suppressed a sigh as you transferred your weight to your left leg. You rolled your eyes, which they didn’t see due to the hood covering half your face. You decided to use their ignorance to their advantage. 

“What’s the problem? Do you take issue with a woman infiltrating your post?” you asked as you began to slowly to step towards them again. You feigned your innocence as best you could in your new voice. You deliberately began to slightly sway your hips as you got closer to the guards. The guard on the right swallowed hard. “N-no. Wait. Yes. No, I mean no. I mean. It’s just that…we…uh…”

The brutish guard elbowed him hard in the side and swiftly said, “What he means to say is that we were expectin’ someone else to show up here.” He narrowed his eyes, “But that doesn’t mean we treat you any different.” He raised his sword and aimed it at you. “Now you’re going to wait right here until the reinforcements arrive so that you may arrested and tried for you actions here tonight.” 

“There’s just one problem with that,” you responded your voice’s pitch dropping back down to its normal range. To keep them from getting suspicious you kept your hands raised but you very slowly began to shuffle towards the more nervous guard. Your eyes flicked down to his hand holding his sword and you noticed it shaking slightly. “I have no intention of following your orders.” 

Faster than they could comprehend, you kicked the scared guard in his lower abdomen. His body caved inward, momentarily distracted by the pain. You shoved the guard’s shoulder away from you, causing his body to turn and opening a spot where you could wrap your arm around his neck pulling his back against the front of your body. The guard had dropped his sword in surprise. 

The brutish guard had trouble comprehending exactly what was happening in front of him and had lunged towards you, aiming his sword for your heart. However, instead of making contact with you he had impaled his comrade. He stopped before he could push the sword completely through, processing what he had just done. He stilled, encompassed in shock at what he had just done. 

You smirked. Stepping aside, you pushed your human shield further into the sword making sure you weren’t impaled as well. The force seemed to bring the guard back to his senses. As he began tugging his sword out of the body, you tackled him to the ground, pushing all your weight onto his chest. You extended the hidden blade that was attached to your wrist out and placed it onto his neck. You saw fear flash in the guard’s eyes before you slid the blade across his exposed neck without a second thought. 

You suddenly heard running footsteps coming in your direction. Standing, you retracted the blade back up into its hiding place. You looked around you and saw that around twelve soldiers covered in gold armor had arrived, all bearing swords. Keeping your face neutral, you reached across your body and slid your own sword out of its sheath. You placed your right foot behind you, lunging into your fighting stance and raised your sword. 

You parried with the forces for no more than ten minutes. You advanced at your enemies and deflected their movements at the right times and with ease. It was as if these guards had never been properly trained. You quickly impaled the last guard in an opening in his armor and just as fast removed it. As you watched him drop to his knees, you wiped the blood that accumulated over the fight off your sword and onto the pants of one of the fallen soldiers. You slid your sword back into its sheath. Knowing that the king’s guard would now be on high alert and a second wave was soon to come, you sprinted towards the door of your original target. You had a feeling that the next wave would be one you wouldn’t be able to fight off.

Adrenaline began pumping throughout your system as you realized you were finally were going to complete your mission. You began to feel lighter at the prospect of success. Getting here didn’t go as smoothly as you had planned but you had finally made it.

As you placed your hands on the handle of the building’s door you heard a dark chuckle behind you. Your heart immediately dropped in your chest and you spun around looking for the source of the noise. There was tall man casually leaning against one of the nearby pillars with his arms crossed. He was thin but had an agile muscular frame rather than a bulky one. He had raven hair that was slicked back and a devious smirk that was curling upwards.

“Well, well. You are quite the warrior. But if I were you, I wouldn’t open those doors.”


	2. Chapter 2

You narrowed your eyes at the man who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. You crossed your arms and leaned onto your right leg as you spoke. “To what I owe the pleasure, Prince Loki?” you asked. 

Loki look down at the ground for a moment and glanced back up at you through his lashes, his lips forming a mischievous smile. “Just keeping your best interests at heart,” he replied. 

You raised one eyebrow in disbelief, which he didn’t see due to your face-covering hood. “With all due respect Prince Loki, I highly doubt that you know what’s best for me. Now if you don’t mind, I have business I must return to.” 

“If you insist,” Loki replied, his hand gesturing towards the door. You turned your back to Loki, returning your attentions to the task at hand. “But I’m telling you now,” Loki warned. “You’re not going to like what you see,” he said in an almost a mocking tone. 

You huffed your breath out in frustration. You placed both hands back onto the building’s door handle and forcefully tugged. The door barely even budged. You heard chuckle behind you.

“You’re going to have to do better than that. Surely you’re smart enough to know that it wasn’t just going to open,” Loki mocked. 

“Of course I knew that,” you snapped at him, your temper starting to rise. “I was just gauging what I needed to do to open it.”

“Ah, how silly of me. I should have known,” He replied indolently, unaffected by your snappy tone.

You ignored his comment and instead examined the small lock that was twisted around handle. You brushed your hand slowly over lock trying to find the point in which it disconnected.

“I’m sure the lock has a beautiful design, but if I were you I would move a little faster than that. I do believe I hear more soldiers coming,” Loki announced behind you, amusement clearly laced within his tone. 

Your temper flared within you for a second time. Why did the prince find it necessary to comment on everything? In fact, why was the prince even here in the first place? Doesn’t he have more important duties to attend to than distract you from your mission?

You finally found where the lock connected and pulled out one of the knives tucked within your belt. You began hacking away at connection, hoping that there was some kind of weak spot that would give in. The prince sighed heavily behind you, indicating for you to hurry up. As you made it halfway through the material, your brain made a sudden connection. You straightened your back and quickly spun towards Loki.

“You’re the person the guards were expecting tonight, aren’t you?” you accused the prince. Loki simply stood straight from his leaning position on the pillar and started walking towards you. You stood your ground and crossed your arms, waiting for an answer. 

He stopped a few inches in front of you and simply replied, “You’re running out of time.” 

Your eyes widened for a brief moment as you heard the faint sound of armor clinking in the distance. You gripped the knife harder and went back to work on the lock, furiously cutting through it. You poured your frustration into your work. How could you be so stupid to allow Loki to distract you from your mission like this? Your curiosity of Loki’s presence was wasting the precious time you had to break into the building. But maybe you had a good reason for this, right? He could be a threat to your mission. He had to be there for a reason he was refusing to tell you.

Finally your knife broke through the tough material. You quickly moved your other hand away before the momentum of your furious cutting could get to it. You slid the knife back into your belt and swiftly opened the door. You ran into the building which simply contained one giant room littered with shelves containing strange foreign objects which you ignored. You scanned the room, weaving through the shelves looking for the only thing that mattered. Finally a faint red glow caught your attention. Your heart skipped a beat.

You ran towards the source of the light until you finally came upon it. The reason why you were here. It was a small sphere, no bigger than a baseball, with engravings of a language you couldn’t understand. It was protected by some kind of force field that would ripple at random times. You could feel the power almost pulsate off of the sphere. Your hands itched to grab it but you knew you had to be careful. 

You slowly began to move your hand towards the force field, cautious, until you heard _his _voice again.__

“I see you still refuse to take my advice.” Your hand stilled. “Go ahead. Try to take it out. I’m sure nothing bad will occur,” Loki said sarcastically. Your hand formed into a fist and you placed it by your side, your irritation starting to build once again.

You kept your back facing him but you turned your head in his direction. “How else is it supposed to removed?” you asked him slowly, trying to keep your temper in check.

“No clue,” he replied nonchalantly. Your fists began to slightly shake.

“If you have nothing useful to contribute, I would greatly appreciate it if you left me alone,” you snapped at him. The second time you’ve done that to him that night.

“Ah, but I have contributed. I advised you not to open the doors. Which you didn’t listen to. I then warned you that you weren’t going to like what you saw. Which you ignored. And now, you will still try to poke through that force field with your hand without thinking of the implications of what could occur,” Loki spoke, is annoyance now starting to become evident.

You turned to him. “So you just want me to abandon everything I’ve done tonight. You have no business telling me what I should be doing. This is my prize.”

Loki began to smile playfully. “But you see my dear. That’s where you’re wrong.”

He began circling around the podium that held the sphere, staring at it. A strange type of hunger briefly flashed in his eyes. “I am very curious. So please enlighten me, mystery woman. How did you find out about the sphere?” He looked up and eyed your robes, gradually putting the pieces of the puzzle together. You kept your lips tightly pressed.

“You clearly work for the order,” he observed. “But their organization doesn’t interfere with Asgardian affairs. An agreement between Odin and them. Your robes also deviate from their traditional look, clearly indicating you don’t associate with them. At least, not anymore.”

You narrowed your eyes at Loki, angry that he was so quickly piecing together your story. But there was something else you were feeling. Were you…impressed?

Loki slowly made his way around the podium and stopped when he reached you. “You’re here for your own self-interest, aren’t you?” he concluded. “Please tell me. How did you even find out about the sphere, when Odin only received it earlier today?”

“I have resources here in Asgard,” you simply told him, not wanting him to figure out anything more about you.

He was considering your answer when all of a sudden you heard the guards storming into the building. _Took them long enough _, you thought to yourself. You clearly overestimated the time you thought it would take them to get here.__

Loki seemed to know what you were thinking, “Don’t think of our guards that slow. They were caught in multiple traps,” he told you smugly. You eyed him curiously.

“I set up precautions on my way here,” he answered before you could ask ‘why’.

The only exit the building had was through the doors in which you came and you knew you wouldn’t be able to just walk back through them. You readied yourself for the fight that was about to occur by unsheathing your sword once again.

Loki smirked at you. “Eager for a fight I see,” he said, pulling out his own dagger. You ignored his comment as you focused on the first guardsman that came charging at you.


	3. Chapter 3

You began to fight off the guards side by side with Loki. It was a strange feeling splitting up the work with someone else as you preferred to work alone. Even though he was being helpful, you sort of wished that it was with someone other than him. But you had to admit, it thinned the number of guards a lot faster than if you had been here alone. 

You had acute accuracy in advancing at your opponents, blocking their attacks at the proper times and striking when the opportunity presented itself. Occasionally, an attacker would try to catch you off guard from behind but you would simply dodge the attack by rolling onto the ground and sliding underneath their blade. You would then use this new angle to your advantage and trip them by kicking their legs from underneath them and slide your hidden blade into an opening in their armor.

You continued to fight off what seemed like a never ending stream of advances by the guards. For a brief moment you were finally able to catch your breath and you look over at your partner. You noticed that he fought more strategically rather than head on. He would perform different illusions to trick the guards into thinking he was in multiple places at once and then strike when the guards were distracted by one his “copies”. For a second you admired his fighting style and tactics, but it only passed as a fleeting thought. 

All of sudden you felt yourself being thrown. Your stomach plummeted downwards as you realized you had been caught off guard. Your body smacked against a wall and your neck snapped forward, giving you slight whiplash. You looked up at the guard who had thrown you, now walking towards you.

You immediately tried to stand, an instinct to get up and fight back, but your vision blurred and an intense head rush coursed through you. You fell back to the ground back against the wall, trying to gauge the distance between you and the guard, readying the use of your hidden blades. The guard was a few inches in front of you when he began to lift his sword but all of sudden he stopped. His weapon dropped to the floor and he fell to his knees, revealing Loki behind him pulling out his dagger. 

“I would get up if I were you,” Loki advised, turning his back to you and focusing on the last of the guards that were approaching. 

“You can thank me later for saving your life,” he added as he readied his stance. The annoyance and anger that sparked within you refueled your muscles and helped you clear your head. You stood up carefully, making sure that you didn’t get another head rush. You reached for your sword and realized it was no longer there. You scanned the floor and found it lying several feet away by the approaching guards. 

Instead of worrying about your fallen weapon, you flicked out both your hidden wrist blades and prepared to fight more with your hands. You and Loki attacked the last of guards, splitting up the work evenly. Because your hidden blades weren’t nearly as long as your sword, you had to be extra careful when deflecting the sword attacks. You did find an advantage to them as they brought you closer to your enemy, making it easier to pull more intricate maneuvers and attacks onto your opponent.

You finished with your half of the guards within minutes. You retracted your blades back into their hiding places and turned towards Loki’s opponents, seeing if he needed any assistance. He had two left, both of whom were slowly cornering him between a shelf and the wall. 

Instinctively, you ran towards the guards being sure to not alert them of your presence. Their backs faced you, oblivious to the fact that you were coming up behind them. As soon as you were in between them you pressed your palms against each neck, dislodging the hidden blade out and into their flesh. You pulled the blades out and smirked at Loki. “Consider us even.”

A smile began to form on Loki’s lips as he slipped his dagger back into its hiding place. “Not quite, dear,” he replied, walking past you and towards the doors, stepping over the many now dead bodies strewn across the floor. 

“And why is that?” you asked sharply, mimicking his footwork as you moved quickly to reach up to him, picking up your fallen sword on the way. 

“I helped you much more than simply saving you from a guard,” he replied as if it should have been obvious. You had reached his side and you were both walking out of the building, the sphere momentarily forgotten from your mind. He stopped a few feet outside of the building, turned to you and observed your body language. You clearly conveyed that you were confused. 

“If it weren’t for me, you would no longer have a hand to use those fancy hidden blades of yours. What made you so brilliantly figure that you could just stick your hand in there? Are you really so daft to think you could just simply take the sphere?” Loki teased, his tone conveying that he was trying to raise your temper. 

Instead of getting upset by his comments, your thoughts immediately returned to why you were here and your mission to get the sphere.

You planned to reenter the building but Loki continued. “Also, if it weren’t for me, almost double the amount of guards would have shown up. You wouldn’t have been able to take on that first wave of guards, never mind the second.”

You placed your hands on your hips refusing to give him a thanks if that’s what he wanted. “Why go to such lengths to set up traps when you don’t even know how to get the sphere yourself?” you challenged.

“I was curious to see how Odin protected the sphere to prevent me from getting it. I clearly wasn’t expecting you to show up. So few people knew it had arrived here today,” Loki replied easily. 

“How did Odin know you would try to take it?” you asked. 

Loki simply smirked and answered, “You clearly don’t know much about me, do you?” He turned his back to you and started walking away. You stood where you were debating whether or not to leave and regroup yourself or to head back into the building and try to figure out a way to get that sphere. 

Loki turned suddenly towards you. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Thor and his friends arriving any moment now to investigate, seeing as so many guards were dispatched and none returned,” he said, deciding your next actions for you. 

You narrowed your eyes and began walking backwards, watching him carefully.

“Smartest decision you’ve made all night,” Loki said at your physical response. He turned back around, disappearing down an adjacent street. 

You turned your back and ran out of the street and into the alleyway you originally had snuck down. When you reached the end you scaled the wall and landed on top of the roof. You began to sprint and jump across the building’s rooftops, towards your home. 

You ran until your lungs burned and your legs ached. The closer you got to your home the more the pain in your neck began to return, making it harder to keep upright, never mind run. 

The sun was beginning rise and it dawned on you how much time this mission took up. You realized how much longer it was made because of Prince Loki. Frustration now piled on top of everything else you were feeling. Your mind kept replaying everything that had happened that night, especially with Loki. 

He did help you multiple times, especially with fighting off the guards. You shook you head. _No_ , you thought, _I should not be thinking of him like this. He was a distraction. He prevented me from completing my mission. From obtaining a powerful object._

You finally reached your small home, hidden away in between two much larger houses. You jumped down grabbing the edge of your roof with your hands and slipped in through the window. You made your way to your bedroom taking off your different weapons, belts, and straps as you walked. You slipped your robes over your head and sat down on your bed. 

Your vision started to become blurry and your muscles became more and more sore. It took effort, but you finally kicked off your boots and laid back onto your bed in just your pants and bra. You didn’t even bother pulling the sheet over you as you slowly began to slip in to unconsciousness.

Right before you went under you recognized the sound of thunder off in the distance, coming from the location of the sphere.


	4. Chapter 4

You woke up with sunlight shining down on your face. You groaned and pulled the pillow out from underneath your head. You placed it over your eyes to block out the intruding light. You laid there for several minutes trying to gauge how long you slept for. Your mouth was completely dry and your body ached all over. 

You put your arms over your head, clasping your hands together and stretched out your whole body, pulling it in opposite directions. A wave of pleasure washed over you until the kink in your neck sharply pulled you out of your pleasant moment. You sat up and swung your legs over the bed, massaging and stretching your neck with your brows furrowed, trying to get the knot out as best as you could. 

You finally attempted to open your eyes. It took determination, as they were still heavy with sleep and the sunlight didn’t seem to want to falter. You rubbed your eyes, removing the sleepies and stood. You stretched one final time before hearing your stomach growl.

You automatically put your hand on your stomach trying to remember the last time you had eaten. You picked up a clean, oversized white shirt from the top of your dresser and put it on. You left your bedroom and headed towards the kitchen, throwing your hair up in a sloppy ponytail on the way. 

You pushed back the curtain that separated your room from the rest of the house and made your way to a giant bowl filled with half ripe fruit. You picked out the ones you deemed best for eating and cut them up, placing them in a bowl. You sat down on a stool at the counter and starting picking at your breakfast (or was it lunch?) with a fork. You looked around your small home.

It was certainly nothing to brag about. It was abandoned when you had arrived in the city and it looked like no one had lived in it for quite some time, so you decided to make it your own. The plus side was that it was completely free as you simply just took it. The downside was that it needed a lot of work to even make it suitable to live in. 

There were only three rooms in total; your bedroom, the kitchen, and a bathroom. The kitchen had a small area next to it piled high with pillows. The area was clearly meant for some kind of kitchen table, but you found it unnecessary as you only ate at the counter anyways.

The walls were bare except for a few windows. Your room contained a few knickknacks from over the years, but nothing of real value. You didn’t have the kind of money to go out and buy expensive food such as meat, so you were stuck picking fruit off of trees in the street or stealing vegetables from people’s gardens.

When you finished brunch you threw the bowl into the sink to be cleaned later and made your way to the bathroom. You filled the bath and entered, cleaning off the dirt and dried blood that had accumulated from the night before. Plumbing was the trickiest part to get working again in your home.

It took a few days, some coin, and blackmailing before you could get the hot water working. You ducked your head under the water, holding your breath until your lungs begged for air. You resurfaced, rubbing the water from your eyes and wiping your hair back. You got out of the tub, pulled the plug out of the drain and reached for a towel.

You collected your robes and other articles of clothing off the floor that you had pulled off on your journey to your bed last night and put them back on. You stepped into your boots and strapped in all your belts and weapons. You took one final look in the mirror before leaving your home, tucking your hair back into the hood and flipping it over your face.

You looked up at the sky and figured that it was about mid-afternoon. You began walking, weaving in between buildings before reaching one of the main streets in the city. It was filled with Asgardians of all ages. There were mothers holding their children’s hands bartering with vendors while their kids pulled on their dresses trying to get their attentions. 

There were people weaving in and out of the different shops, holding wrapped boxes of their recent purchases, purses now a little bit lighter than before. You could smell fresh bread being baked in one of the bakeries and heard a constant hum of people’s conversations, occasionally a laugh breaking out above everyone else’s voices.

You hid in plain sight, using the middle of large crowds to make your way down the bustling street. The citizens were used to seeing so many warriors and soldiers walking through the city, so your weapons provided no threat or worry to the people around you. 

You made your way towards the bakery; to the smell that filled your senses the most. There were two women around your age in fine silk dresses chatting happily with smiles, picking out bread from the selection in front of them. A young man stood behind the stand, whom you figured was most likely an apprentice, blushing furiously at the two women. You smiled a little at the sight, thinking it kind of sweet. 

You hoped that the man would be too involved with the women to not notice what you were about to do. When the women decided what they wanted, the man turned his back to wrap the bread for them. As soon as he turned, you walked by the stand and swiped a loaf of bread casually and joined another large crowd walking by. 

You continued walking down the street, watching the different people pass as you picked off pieces of your stolen bread and popped them into your mouth. As soon as you finished your bread you gently pushed people out of your way and traveled to one of the many smaller side streets that branched off. You walked around the backroads for a good ten minutes until you arrived at one of your favorite spots. 

It was bar that most people didn’t dare go into, too afraid of the people that socialized there. You found it good place to meet people that were similar to you and your situation. It was also the perfect resource to pick up news about the city, as well as meet different informants.

You opened the door and entered, looking for an empty table to sit at. The bar had no windows so the only light that was provided was from the candles randomly lit around the room. The bar was half full, despite it still being the middle of the day, and had people scattered around the many wooden tables and by the bar itself. 

There was a stage, currently not in use, located at the back of the bar that usually had performances by women on weekend nights. For this reason alone the bar was usually only filled with men. 

You found a table by the side and pulled the wooden chair out, plopping down. You put your feet on the table and crossed them. You leaned back and scanned your environment to see who was present. You kept a look out for one of your resources in case they had any information that would pertain to you.

The information was usually about different shipments coming into Asgard that could be stolen and sold for a good price. You’ve had a few good successful raids and usually got paid a pretty penny. The only problem was that you would spend all your money on food and then eat it all within a few days. 

You looked over at the bar and watched the bartender named Geif. He was a scary looking man (as were most of the men who visited here), but you knew it was all intimidation. He was one of the nicest people you’ve ever encountered, always happy to listen to your stories and offer advice. You formed a small smile on your lips as you remembered one of the stories he had told you. Your pleasant memory was soon enough disrupted when you heard the chair next to you scrape against the floor and someone flop in it with a great sigh. 

“What are you smiling about, sweetheart? Daydreaming about me?” the man who had sat next to you asked, pushing a pint of beer towards you.

You picked up the drink. “Keep wishing,” you replied before taking a drink from the mug.

“Oh come on! You’re killing me here, beautiful! Just give me a chance. I promise you won’t regret it,” he replied at your rejection.

You looked over at your pursuer. He was burley man with a bushy brown beard and deep set brown eyes. He had scars all over his face and hands from different fights over the years. His hair was matted with sweat and his cheeks were pink, flushed from his drinking. You knew the man, but could never remember his name for some reason. He seemed to never leave the bar and had taken up the hobby of flirting with you whenever you visited. 

“Thanks for the drink,” is all you answered back, emphasizing your point by taking another swig.

“Anything for you m’lady!” He replied back proud, puffing out his chest. 

You shook your head at the man as you returned to scanning the room, occasionally glancing back at the door in case one of your informants came in. At a table nearby you overheard a conversation between three men. Your ears peaked interest, tuning out the drunken ramblings of the man next to you. 

“Dozens of Asgardian soldiers were killed last night protecting the sphere!” a man with blonde hair tied up by a string explained harshly.

“I heard it was close up to fifty soldiers!” a second man added, leaning in closer to his friends.

“Impossible,” the third man rejected. “Unless an army had stormed that building, there’s no way that many people would fall.”

“But there were no other bodies expect Asgardian soldiers! If an army had stormed their bodies would have been laying there as well!” the blonde replied.

“It must have been some kind of magic that knocked them all out. I wouldn’t be surprised if Prince Loki had caused it, seeing how Odin had locked the sphere away to prevent specifically him from getting it,” the third suggested.

“But there were sword wounds in a majority of those who had fallen! Plus there were two lethal darts and throwing knives found on the scene!” the blonde countered, clearly impressed with the work of the mystery warrior. 

“Well however it was done, someone was clearly stupid enough to go for it,” the second man added.

The blonde man shook his head. “I disagree. I do hope it was someone other than the prince! It seems as if Odin has forgotten about us folk here in this bar. Doesn’t think we’re a force to be reckoned with anymore. I bet you Odin and that Thor goof are cowering in their pretty castle knowing that we’re back in the streets. That will give us a chance to try and get it for ourselves.” 

“Don’t be daft,” the third man replied. “If anything the sphere is mostly likely under even more protection now than it was before. There’s probably zero percent chance of us getting to it now,” he guessed. “Also, if it were one of us then I wouldn’t be surprised to see his guards come storming in here any moment now,” he concluded, bringing his drink to his lips.

And almost if it was on cue, the door was smashed in and slammed against the floor. Eight men in gold armor stormed in with their weapons raised. The last to enter was a tall, very muscular man with blonde hair down to his shoulders. A red cape flowed behind with a hammer gripped firmly in his right hand.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and Kudos! <3

The flirtatious man sitting next to you practically jumped out of his chair and had spilled his drink all over himself after Thor and his men had stormed through the door. The entire bar became dead quiet and looked over to see who had barged in. Geif, the bartender, looked furious seeing his door being knocked down, knowing he will be the one who will have to pay to replace it. 

“I am searching for the man who caused the deaths of thirty-two Asgardian soldiers in attempt to steal a valuable piece of King Odin’s property,” Thor announced angrily, his voice booming across the bar.

You heard one of the men at the table next to yours whisper, “I told you it was more than a dozen.” You heard him yelp when he received an elbow to the stomach from one of his friends in order to shut him up.

“I demand a name in the next few minutes or I will force it out of all of you,” Thor threatened, stepping further into the bar and showing off his hammer. 

You glared at Thor in disgust. You’ve always disliked the prince, swaggering around the city, boasting his ignorance. You’ve always had a distaste for the royals. The only one that didn’t bother you was Queen Frigga, a woman who seemed to care dearly for those around her even though you disagreed with her choice in people. 

As a warning, Thor swung his hammer against a nearby table, smashing it to pieces. Geif audibly groaned and glared at his customers, wishing for a name to be presented before any more of his property was destroyed. The men in the bar looked around at each other, their eyes questioning if anyone had an answer to give him.

You refused to present yourself. There was no way in hell you would just give yourself over to the enemy to be brought to jail. Clearly they had no clue who they were looking for. They probably just guessed that it was one of the misfits in the bar. A thought suddenly dawned on you. _Loki_. 

Loki could very easily just tell them that it was you, making your capture quick and easy. You were certain that he knew Thor was looking for the guilty suspect and yet he hadn’t told Thor a thing. _Add that to the list of things I apparently owe him_ , you thought to yourself. 

For a second time Thor swung his hammer at another table, earning another groan from Geif and a wince from the people sitting close by. “Give me a name right now or I shall do much worse than destroy furniture!” Thor shouted.

You looked around at all the people in the bar who were clearly starting to become more and more pissed off at Thor. You could easily give Thor a fake name, making him leave for the moment, but you knew he would return even angrier after been given a false lead. You could feel the air begin to charge around you, the people clearly getting ready for a fight with Thor. Despite his ignorance and childishness, you knew that he would be able to beat these men to a pulp within minutes. 

Sighing loudly you removed your feet off of the table and stood before Thor could do anymore damage with his hammer. You really didn’t want to turn yourself in, but you saw no other option. You didn’t want the men around you to get hurt or take your place in jail when they weren’t the ones there last night. Thor looked over at you when he had heard your chair scrape backwards.

Your drunken pursuer was holding onto his mug for dear life as he looked up at you with wide eyes, clearly shocked that you were about to speak. _Tir_ , you remembered suddenly, _his name is Tir_.

You patted Tir on the shoulder as you walked behind him towards Thor. You made sure to keep your chin down slightly to increase the shadow that rested on your face from your hood. Thor turned towards you, confusion forming on his face. He eyed you up and down, figuring out that you were a woman based on your feminine frame. 

“What’s a lady like yourself doing in a place so riddled with filth?” Thor asked, clearly not thinking before he spoke, earning a few swears muttered by the people in the bar. It struck a nerve within you as well. 

You ignored his question and simply answered the next one you knew he was about to ask. “It was I who infiltrated the building last night, killing the guards and attempting to steal the sphere.” You raised your arms to be handcuffed as you spoke.

Thor and a few of his guards gave a slight chuckle. “I apologize for my laughter m’lady, but I highly doubt that you were the one who caused the trouble last night.” This earned a few more soft snickers from his guardsmen. “Now please stop amusing me and tell us the name of the man who did last night’s crimes.”

You sighed loudly and pushed your arms towards him, emphasizing for him to handcuff you again. You refused to respond to such ignorant comments. Thor looked around at the men in the bar with a questioning look in his eyes. A lot of the men shrugged and looked at each other. Thor looked back down at you, clearly doubtful that you were the one. 

He then decided that your word must have had some truth to it and gestured for one of his guardsmen to come and place handcuffs on you. They covered your entire hand and went halfway up your forearms. You kept your head down, making sure your hood covered your entire face as the guards placed the device on your hands. After doing so, you dropped your hands down and moved towards the door.

Thor placed a hand on your back, which you immediately recoiled at, and guided you through the door. You were then escorted all the way to the Palace by foot with Thor having his hand on your back the entire time to ensure you didn’t escape. It hardly mattered anyways seeing as how the eight guards formed a circle around the two of you.

You took mostly backroads on your way to the Palace but there were times where you had to take one of the main streets. When that happened you made sure to keep your head down so that no one saw your face. You walked in the middle of the road with crowds parting to make way for your group. People would often just stop all together and stare, trying to figure who were and what you had possibly done to deserve a personal escort from Thor. 

Occasionally, as you passed through these big groups of citizens, people would cheer Thor on and congratulate him on his catch. Thor would smile graciously and waved back to these people, while you simply rolled your eyes their reactions.

After some time, you finally made it to the Palace and were escorted down into the dungeons where you were stripped of all your weapons and pouches. They temporarily removed your handcuffs to do a thorough pat down of your body to make certain that there weren’t any other weapons hidden within your robes. The guard that was patting you down discovered your hidden blades and sneered at you. 

“You’re a tricky one,” he remarked. He roughly tore off the straps that held the blades in place and threw it on top of the rest of your other weapons. You wanted to tell him to be careful, but decided it was best to just comply, hoping that it would get you out of here faster and unharmed. 

After they deemed you free of all weapons, they replaced your handcuffs and grabbed you by the arms. They took you down several flights of stairs, going further down into the dungeons. Eventually you reached a large hallway with cells lining either side. 

They brought you down the hall and you peeked up from underneath your hood to see who your cell mates would be. You saw creatures of different shapes and sizes, some more human looking than others. Most either ignored you, being in the cells for so long they lost interest in newcomers, or their heads peaked up in curiosity, which would eventually lead to snarling as soon as they saw Thor. Some even deemed it appropriate to give you crude signs and mime sexual acts as you passed. You were temporarily thankful for the barrier that separated you from them. 

You soon reached your own cell and your handcuffs were taken off. You were brought up the steps and shoved into the room. You fell to your knees and squeezed your eyes shut at the pain that shot up through your thighs. You twisted around to look back, a yellow barrier had now appeared separating you from Thor and the guards. 

The guards began to walk back down the hallway, but Thor stepped up to the see-through barrier. He notified you that you would be tried for your actions the next day. You simply turned your back to him in response. You heard his footsteps fade away as he followed behind the guards.

You were slightly embarrassed that you had gotten yourself into such a position. You looked around your cell to see if they provided any kind of furniture. Nothing. You sighed and stood up, your knees providing support for your arms as you pushed upwards. You walked to the side of the cell so you could see those approaching down the hall and pressed your back against it. After a few moments you slowly slid downwards onto your butt, stretching one leg out but keeping the other tucked in. You ducked your head and tugged you hood downwards, blocking out any light. You casually laid your arm over your knee.

An unknown amount of time passed when all of a sudden you heard a voice. _His_ voice.


	6. Chapter 6

“I have to admit. I am a little disappointed that you got caught,” you heard Loki’s voice come from the other side of the barrier. 

You didn’t say a word. You kept your head down and pretended to not acknowledge his presence. He continued anyways, ignoring your lack of response. 

“I heard Thor announce that you had turned yourself in without a fight. I’m very curious to know why you would do such a thing. You do realize you could be spending a lot of your time in this cell now, don’t you?” Loki said, trying pull a response out of you by triggering your temper. You still hadn’t moved from your sitting position.

“Why do you keep yourself hidden underneath that hood of yours? What could you possibly be hiding?” he asked more to himself than towards you. You still refused to give him your attention. 

“Stubborn,” Loki mumbled underneath his breath. At this, the corners of your mouth tugged upwards. Your façade was starting to get to him. 

It was quiet for a few moments, but you knew he still stood there as you didn’t hear any footsteps. You figured that he was probably trying to think of something that would get a response out of you. 

“Would you like my assistance for the trial tomorrow?” Loki finally asked, clearly picking the right words as your head jerked upwards upon hearing this. You didn’t want to admit it, but you really did want some kind of advice. You weren’t familiar with Asgardian trials and the way Odin ruled in these cases. Up until this point, you had no idea what you were going to say to get yourself out of the situation. You were clearly guilty. 

Loki smirked when he saw your slight head movement. He stood there silently, waiting for your answer. If there was one person that could get you out of situation like this it would be Loki. You thought back to one of his responses from the night before: ‘ _You clearly don’t know much about me, do you? _’__

You did know a few things about Loki, most of it coming from talking with other people and through the news. You knew he got in trouble frequently with Odin and Thor and always seemed to slip out of any serious punishment. You also knew that he was known for being the God of Mischief, a title that made you sway more towards the decision of asking for his help. But you knew there had to be some kind of catch.

You kept your head down. “What would I owe you in return?” you said to your knees.

You could practically hear Loki grin. “Your name,” was all he replied.

At this your head shot upwards and towards him. You were right when you thought him to be grinning. He was showing all his teeth, clearly happy that he had gotten through to you.

“Why?” you asked in a bit of a sharp tone.

“I want to know more about you,” he replied as if it should have been obvious. “You’re clearly not from Asgard. Definitely not a Midgardian either. You like to keep your identity a secret and I want to know why."

“Are you going to give me faulty advice that actually gives me more time in here rather than less?” you asked him warily, making sure that he wasn’t going to pull one over your eyes.

He laughed softly. “Of course not. The sooner you get out of here, the sooner I get to figure you out.” You narrowed your eyes at him, not liking this explanation.

“No,” was all you said back. His smile faltered for a second, but he quickly brought it back up.

“Very well,” he replied. “I’ll be sure to visit every so often. I doubt you’ll be getting any visitors.” He turned his back to you and started to make his way down the hall.

You sighed heavily and hit the back of your head against the wall behind you. You closed your eyes. “Wait,” you called softly after him. He continued to walk away from you. “W-Wait!” you tried again, this time a little bit louder.

Loki turned around and feigned confusion. “I’m sorry?” he asked, pretending to not have heard what you said.

You stood up and walked over to the barrier separating the two of you. You stared at each other for a few moments. Loki was clearly starting to lose his patience as he threatened to leave again by turning his back to you.

You closed your eyes and told him your name before you could regret letting his advice slip from you. He turned back around with a grin returning to his face.

“That’s more like it,” he replied before walking back to the front of your cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is so short! The chapters from here on out will be much longer! :)


	7. Chapter 7

“Will you assist me with the trial now that I’ve told you my name?” you asked Loki, crossing your arms over your chest. 

Loki simply nodded his head once, changing his features to have a more serious expression.

“Well? What are my chances of getting out of here?” you pressed him. 

Loki sighed and looked up at you. “Considering that you admitted directly to Thor that you were the one who committed the crime, not well.”

You groaned and ducked your head downwards, lacing your fingers behind your head. You started to pace the length of the barrier in your cell, disappointment and worry filling you. 

“How much does Odin know? Has Thor told him anything yet?” you asked while continuing your pacing.

“Thor was on his way to Odin when he came across me and told me what had happened. I’m certain Thor is speaking with him now, if he hasn’t already,” Loki answered. 

_Shit_ , you thought to yourself. _There’s no way I’ll be getting out of here anytime soon now_. You started to regret turning yourself in. You hadn’t thought through the implications of all your actions. The threat of spending years in a cell hadn’t presented itself until now. You nearly laughed out loud. _This is what I get for ‘doing the right thing’_.

You stopped your pacing and faced Loki.

“So how are you going to help?” you questioned.

This time, it was Loki’s turn to start pacing. He clasped his hands behind his back and kept his lips pressed together. His face was contorted in concentration, thinking of a plan that would work. 

“Well, you still have to go to the trial tomorrow to be sentenced a punishment. We could come up with some kind of alibi, but I don’t know how well it’ll pass seeing as you’ve already confessed,” Loki replied. His eyes flickered up to you before quickly looking back down at the floor. He continued on with pacing, thinking.

“I suppose I could speak on your behalf to lessen the blow of your punishment.”

You raised your eyebrows in disbelief. “You would actually speak for me at the trial?”

Loki stopped his pacing and looked up at you. “Only if you wish me to,” he answered.

“What would you say?”

Loki sighed softly. “I haven’t the slightest idea. But if you give me the night, I’ll have a story prepared for Odin to convince him to give you a lesser punishment. That way you won’t have to speak at the trial tomorrow.”

“What would I have to do then?” you asked.

“Show up a-,” 

“No shit,” you snapped at him under your breath. The stress of the trial and the possibility of spending years in the cell was starting to get to you and your temper. 

Loki kept his lips pressed together as if he were holding down a smile. “Careful there. You might want to let people finish explaining before jumping at them. They may no longer want to assist you.”

Keeping your mouth closed, you gestured with your hand for him to continue. You were starting to get annoyed with the prince. You hated the fact that you had to depend on Loki on getting you out of here, but at this point, you had few options. 

A smile formed slowly on Loki’s lips. “If you have me speak at your trial, there will be little you will have to say. Just answer the simple and direct questions. I’ll do most of the talking.”

“What if your story doesn’t work? What if I’m stuck in here for years?” you asked.

“Then we figure out a plan B,” Loki replied.

“And what would that include?” You had a feeling that you would be then be breaking out illegally.

“We’ll cross that bridge later if we need to,” Loki said, smiling at you. 

You stared at Loki, trying to figure out what he was up to. You found it suspicious that he seemed so eager to help you get out of here. There had to be bigger picture that you weren’t seeing. This gut suspicion was what was preventing you from agreeing with Loki immediately. You were nervous that this would backfire on you, especially since this was Loki you were dealing with.

You crossed your arms and leaned your shoulder on the side of your cell. Loki watched you carefully as you thought through everything he just told you.

You nodded your head up at Loki. “I’ve heard rumors about you and your father. You seem to get in a bit of trouble with him time to time, so how do I know that Odin will even listen to you?”

Loki smirked at you. “Fair question. I don’t. But it’s the best shot you have.”

You sighed and looked down at the floor. He had a point. He was an opportunity of getting out of here sooner and you had a feeling that he would be the only one. You figured that you had to take a risk with him speaking on your behalf. _God of Mischief_ , Loki’s title popped in your head. Yes, he was up to something and you were sure you would regret it later but as he said earlier, ‘we’ll cross that bridge later if we need to.’

You straightened from your leaning position and walked to the barrier to where he was standing. 

“I’ll let you speak on my behalf, but you must promise it’ll be a genuine story. That you’re actually going to help me get out of here,” you told Loki.

“You have my word,” Loki replied, slipping an easy smile on his face.

At that moment, you felt as if you owed Loki something. All he asked for in return so far was your name and nothing else. You hated to admit it, but you realized how much he’s done for you, even if he was secretly planning something underneath it all.

“Thank you,” you blurted at Loki. 

“I haven’t done anything yet, but you’re welcome.”

You shook your head and swallowed your pride. “No. What I mean is thank you for everything you’ve done for me. For what you did the other the night, for not telling Thor it was me, and now, for offering to speak. I hate to admit it, but you’ve helped me many times now. So, thank you.” 

You kept your head down at you waited for Loki’s reply.

“No need to get sentimental on me. I like you better the other way,” Loki said.

You balled your hands into fists and snapped your head at him. “Can’t you just accept my thanks and move on?” you said harshly.

Loki grinned. “That’s more like it.” He turned his back to you and started to make his was back down the hallway. He stopped suddenly and turned to you. 

“Oh, I meant to inform you. You might want to push back that hood of yours when you go to the trial. I doubt that Odin would be too keen on it,” Loki stated. He turned back around and began to walk once again. 

“I’ll shall see you at the trial,” he called lazily over his shoulder. 

As he strolled away from you, you could hear him repeating your name over and over. He was testing it out at different speeds as if he were trying to figure something out.

You sighed and looked back into your cell. You walked all the way to the back and laid down. You laced your hands over your stomach and stared up at the ceiling. Your mind buzzed from the conversation you just had with Loki. You had no clue how the trial would play out the next day and the more you thought about it, the more nervous you became.

You stayed wide awake for hours, finding it difficult to fall asleep. Your stomach growled from hunger and you were filled with butterflies. To calm down and fulfill your growing appetite, you imagined eating at a grand table filled with extravagant food, enough to feed a village. Your mouth salivated at the thought of eating fresh meat with different cheeses, sauces, and vegetables. You wished for fresh bread and aged wine. 

Eventually, you fell asleep with the thought of eating freshly baked pies and cakes.

~

You woke up to the sound of guards walking towards you. You furrowed your brows and groaned at being awoken all of sudden. One of them grabbed a fistful of your robes by your neck and jerked you upwards, pulling you completely out of your dreams. You were confused by your surroundings for a moment, until the events of the previous day flooded back in. 

You forcefully pulled your shoulder away from the guard’s hand and straightened out your robes. You flicked your hood back over your head when you realized it had fallen during your personal wake-up call.

Two guards came up on either side of you and held onto your upper arms while a third came up and placed handcuffs back onto your writs. They guided you out of the cell and back down the hallway you had come down yesterday. As you were walking past all the cells, you made sure to keep your head held high, trying to make it seem as if you were completely unafraid of what was about to happen. Truthfully, you had butterflies in your stomach and your knees were starting to shake. You were certain that if the guards hadn’t been holding onto your arms, you would have collapsed right there.

As you made your way up what seemed like an endless amount of stairs, you frantically tried to remember everything Loki had told you. You finally reached a door that officially took you out of the dungeons. You then walked through what seemed like a maze of hallways. You tried to remember what turns you were taking but eventually gave up, deeming it pointless. 

You finally arrived at a giant set of golden doors that reached from the floor all the way up to the ceiling, covered head-to-toe in intricate designs that must have taken years to engrave. 

_Keep calm_ , you told yourself. _Deep breaths. Keep calm. You can do this. Loki will help you. You will get out of here soon. Keep…calm_.

The two giant doors opened and presented you with a giant gold room with the intricate designs continuing throughout the entire chamber. You then realized how long of a walk it was going to be to even reach the king. While walking towards the throne, the butterflies in your stomach intensified and you suddenly had a metal taste in your mouth. The nerves mixed with your empty stomach made for a terrible combination. 

_No, no, no, no. Deep breath. You can do it. Fuck. Don’t puke. Don’t puke_. You closed your eyes and tried to keep down what was threatening to come up. When you opened your eyes you spotted Loki and Thor standing on the steps leading up to Odin. You hoped Loki had come up with your alibi and was ready to speak. 

You reached the base of the steps and looked up at Odin who was staring intently down at you, showing no emotion. The guards let go of your arms and uncuffed your hands. Your legs started to tremble harder and you prayed that no one could notice. 

“Bow for your king,” a guard whispered harshly in your ear and pushed you forwards. Your trembling legs caused you to fall onto your knees. You bowed your head and your face flushed with embarrassment. You hated being at the mercy of the king and his guards. You hated being so vulnerable, not being able to move or defend yourself. Your muscles were screaming at you to fight back. 

You could feel a dozen pair of eyes staring straight at you and you felt that their gazes could burn a hole right through you. You wondered for a second if you should start speaking but quickly remembered Loki telling you to answer only direct questions. 

Suddenly, another thought came to you reminding you what else Loki had told you. 

With shaking hands, you gripped the edges of your hood and gently pushed it backwards. You then untucked your hair and shook it out. You looked up at the king, trying give him a look other than hatred and patiently waited.

Odin parted his lips and began to speak.


	8. Chapter 8

“You have been brought forth to answer for the crimes you have been accused of committing, which includes the murder of thirty-two Asgardian soldiers and the attempt of stealing the sphere of Ogtif,” Odin spoke down at you.

You wanted to tell him that technically you hadn’t killed _all_ the guards. Loki had taken out a big chunk as well. You then wondered why Loki wasn’t standing here alongside you. He was just as guilty as you.

“How do you defend yourself?” Odin looked down at you.

Your eyes widened. You had no idea how to defend yourself. You weren’t sure if this is where Loki was supposed to come and help you. He just continued to stand beside Thor, not speaking. You kept quiet as well, unsure if you were supposed to wait for Loki or actually give him a response. 

“How do you defend yourself?” Odin asked again with more force. You were starting to test his patience and you didn’t want to find out what would happen if you continued your silence. You took a shaky breath.

“I-I’m not,” your voice cracked. “I’m not guilty, your majesty,” you tried again, this time successful. Your cheeks started to become colored with pink, hating the fact that you sounded so weak, so vulnerable to the king. You didn’t want him to have any power over you. 

“She’s obviously lying,” Thor interjected. “She turned herself in and has admitted that she was the one who committed the crime, father.”

Odin simply raised a hand to Thor to keep him quiet. 

“What is the evidence for your case?” Odin asked. 

Your eyes flicked over to Loki’s direction. You were mentally yelling at him to interject and help you. You were starting to panic. You had no alibi. You had no evidence to present to the king to get yourself out of this situation. You had no clue of what you were supposed to say. Loki remained quiet. 

Your nerves quickly disappeared and anger soon took its place. You were furious with Loki. He hadn’t prepared anything at all and was leaving you defenseless against Odin.

If Loki was going to go back against his word then he was going to feel the consequences. Your anger fueled your confidence. 

“My king,” you began, your voice noticeably stronger than the first time you had spoken. “It’s true that I turned myself in, but I’m not the only one guilty of the crime. There was another with me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Your son, Prince Loki joined me halfway through. He’s just as guilty as I am for killing your guardsmen. He was also planning on stealing the sphere as well.”

You glanced over at Loki. He looked slightly shocked at your confession. _Payback’s a bitch_ , you thought.

“Interesting,” was all Odin said.

You looked up at Odin expectantly, hoping that he would bring Loki down next to you to be tried alongside you.

But instead of addressing Loki, Odin ignored your rat out and focused solely on you. He looked down at you with his uncovered eye for a few minutes, as if he were trying to figure something out. You bowed your head and tried to keep a neutral expression. 

You now felt embarrassment for throwing Loki’s name out like that and you realized how childish that move was. You had no clue what Odin was thinking and where this trial was headed. You were sure that Odin was thinking of your punishment. You wondered if Loki had spoken, you would have gotten off the hook.

Eventually Odin spoke. “I have a proposition for you,” he announced. 

You looked up and furrowed your brows. You were sure that Odin was just going to give you your sentence and move on. A deal wasn’t something you had in mind. 

Odin started talking again, explaining. “As illegal as it was to kill my men and try to steal the sphere of Ogtif, I’m willing to give you a pardon on one condition. I must admit, as angry as I am with you, it’s quite impressive that you were able to take down that many of my highly trained men single-handily,” his eye flickered towards Loki, but you didn’t notice. “It would be a sad waste of talent to have you stuck in the dungeons. So, instead of having you a force against me, I’m proposing that you join my side.”

Your eyes widened in shock. You had no idea how to respond.

Odin continued. “You will be working with the elite of my forces. You will be joining Thor, Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg, and Sif on their assignments. They will be keeping a close eye on you and you must always be with at least one of them at all times. If they or I even suspect that you will be going against us, you will not see me be so merciful. There will be no second chance and you can be certain that you would be going back down into the dungeons.”

You had no words. You couldn’t believe your luck. You felt an enormous weight lift off of your shoulders. _I won’t be stuck in that cell!_ you thought. Annoyingly, Loki popped back into your mind. You were curious what Odin was planning on doing with his son, now that you ratted him out.

“What of Loki, your majesty?” you asked.

Odin didn’t hesitate nor look at Loki when he answered, “I will deal with him later.”

You nodded your head and thought through everything Odin had just told you. You wanted to take the offer as you had no intention of going back down into the dungeons, but you hated what you had to do in return. You hated Thor and his friends and had no desire to work with them, especially since it seemed like they would be your babysitters. Hell, you’d rather work with Loki than with Thor.

“I accept your proposition, your majesty,” you said to Odin. At that moment, your stomach embarrassingly growled and you swore it echoed throughout the hall. Your cheeks flamed and heat rose up your neck. _Of fucking course. My stomach would growl now_.

Odin simply nodded once. “Very well. You will be escorted to one of the guest chambers where you will be living,” Odin said. He paused for a moment. “And food will be sent shortly.”

You bowed you head. “Thank you, my king,” you said. You were grateful for the king’s mercy, but you still despised him no less. 

“Your weapons will be returned to you on the way to your quarters,” Odin added as a last thought. “You are dismissed.”

The guards picked you up by your arms and lead you out of the throne room. As soon as you exited, the doors closed and you immediately began feeling better. You had no clue what made Odin come up with the proposition, but you didn’t regret that it happened.

They took you down the maze of hallways again before stopping in front of the door that leads down to the dungeons. One of the guards let go of your arm. “You will wait here while I retrieve your weapons.” he told you. The other guard released your arm as well, but stood nearby watching your every move.

“I must say,” you heard a voice behind you. “I’m surprised you threw my name out there like that.” You spun around and saw Loki walking towards you, a smirk plastered onto his face. 

“You may go,” he said to the guard. He looked at Loki questioningly. “I can watch over her. She won’t be doing anything idiotic,” he said while looking at you. 

The guard must have decided arguing would have been a waste of breath as he simply shrugged and walked away. You watched him leave and waited until he turned down another hallway before making your move.

You pushed Loki hard against the chest and shoved him into the wall. His back slammed against the concrete. You were absolutely enraged with him. “How dare you! You lied to me! I was expecting your help and I got nothing! You said you were going to speak for me and yet you stood there silent! Why?!” you shouted at him. 

Loki was completely unfazed by your actions and yelling. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying your sudden fit of rage. He smiled down at you. “Anger suits you well. Especially when your hood is down and I can see your face. It’s rather expressive.”

You shoved him further into the wall before removing your hand from his chest and quickly throwing your hood over your head, not bothering to tuck in your hair. Your whole body was buzzing with energy from the high of not getting punished by Odin and now by Loki fueling your temper. You wanted to hit something so badly to get this energy out. You decided that Loki was the best target to vent out your energy. 

You pulled your fist backwards and snapped it forwards aiming for Loki’s jaw. However, he quickly caught it before it made contact with his face. Loki then pushed you to the opposite side of the hallway. As you were walking backwards, you brought your other hand up and tried pulling his wrist to let go. His grip tightened and your back made contact with the wall. Loki grabbed your other hand easily and brought your arms up to either side of your head, pinning your captured fists against the wall. 

He chuckled as he brought his face to yours. He looked you directly in your eyes and you couldn’t help but blush at the intensity. You realized you hadn’t noticed his eyes before now. They were a deep shade of green that made you think he could read every thought you were thinking. He spoke your name slowly, letting it roll off his tongue. 

“As much as I admire your temper, it wouldn’t be wise to express it directly towards me. You wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of mine, now would you?”

You had no idea how to respond. You felt completely captured and you had no idea how to get out. Slowly you began to relax your body. You started to feel all pent up energy begin to fade the longer you stood there, staring at Loki.

He chuckled softly under his breath. “That’s better,” he said to you. He released your trapped hands and took a step back. You stood there completely frozen. You had no idea how he was able to do that to you, and you weren’t certain you liked it.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when you heard the door open and the guard step back out. You and Loki looked over at the man. He clearly looked uncomfortable, sensing he came in at an awkward time. “I have your weapons m’lady,” he announced, gesturing to the weapons stacked in his arms with head.


	9. Chapter 9

“Thank you,” you told the guard. You walked over and collected your weapons from his arms, putting them back in their respective places, strapping on your hidden blades last. You flicked them out to make sure they hadn’t been damaged in away way. Once you deemed them okay, you retracted them back into their hiding places. 

You thanked the guard a second time and walked past Loki, completely ignoring him and made your way down the hallway. You had no idea where you were going but you figured that eventually you would find someone who would help you. 

You soon heard someone following you and you looked over your shoulder. You sighed. “Can I help you?”

“I’m just curious as to where you’re going,” Loki responded. You turned completely around.

“Why?”

“Because you’re certainly not going towards your chambers. I’m just making sure that you’re not trying to steal another one of Odin’s things.” 

You crossed your arms. “I’m finding my own way, seeing as no one offered to escort me. And you wouldn’t even care if I was trying to steal Odin’s property.”

“Well for one, you never asked for help getting there and two,” Loki paused. “You’re actually wrong. I would be hurt if you didn’t include me.”

You rolled your eyes at him. “No you wouldn’t.”

Loki smiled at you and walked passed you with his hands laced behind his back, gesturing with his head for you to follow him. You dropped your arms and starting to walk behind him, hoping that he was leading you towards your room. 

“Can you tell me now why you felt the need to go against your word and leave me completely defenseless?” you asked while watching his back.

Loki didn’t respond and kept walking, leading you down several more hallways and staircases. As you followed the prince, you glared at his back, hoping that he could feel your anger.

You finally reached two large gold doors, but still nowhere near as big as the others you had passed before. Loki stopped and opened one of the doors, holding it open for you. He gestured with his hand for you to enter. You threw daggers with your eyes at the prince as you entered your new housing. 

A thought popped into your head. “I thought I was to have one of Thor’s friends watching over me at all times?” you asked Loki.

“It’s only for when you’re out in public. Training and different assignments. Unless you wish for someone to watch you sleep and bathe. I can arrange for that if you want.” Loki smirked at you. 

“Of course I don’t,” you retorted at Loki.

“I didn’t think so.”

Now that you were out of the earshot of others you decided to try interrogate Loki again. “Why didn’t you speak for me?” you asked a second time.

Loki shook his head and walked backwards, keeping a small smile on his lips, as if he were hiding a secret. “I shall see you tomorrow,” was all he said back. He opened the door and quickly slipped out.

 _What is it with this man and not answering my questions?_ You sighed and turned around to check out your new room.

It was a fairly large room with a king-sized, white bed located right in the center, the iron headboard resting against the wall. There was a closet to the left with a full-length mirror to the right of it. There was also a door next to the closet, probably leading to a bathroom. To the left of the entryway, there was a fireplace with a sitting area that could fit a company of five. There was also a half-filled bookshelf on the wall adjacent to the fireplace. To the right of your bed were two glass doors leading out to a balcony.

 _Geez_ , you thought to yourself. _Even their guest rooms are outdone_. You felt a little uneasy in such a fancy room, thinking back to your little shack in the middle of the city. Your stomach rumbled loudly again and you remembered Odin telling you food would be coming. Your mouth watered as you thought of the possibilities. If they had given you such an extravagant room, you hoped that it would transfer over to the food as well.

You unclipped you weapons and pouches, feeling them unnecessary in your room, but you kept your hidden blades on. While you waited for your food, you pushed back your hood and made your way to the bookshelf on the right. You scanned the titles on the spines. Only a few were in your language, most of them being in a tongue you didn’t recognize.

You picked out one with a title you could actually read and thumbed through the pages. You skimmed a couple of chapters before hearing a knock at the door. 

You placed the book back onto the shelf and made your way to the door. You opened it and saw two female servants standing there, their hands both filled with trays. 

“Hello miss,” they spoke in unison while curtseying slightly. 

“Uh, hello,” you responded. You weren’t sure what else you were supposed to say, so you just stepped back to make room for them to enter. They quickly ushered in, placing the trays onto a table near the fireplace.

You stood there awkwardly as you watched them unload food from the different trays onto plates. While one was making the food look presentable, the other walked up towards you with a tape measure in her hand. Before she could make contact with you, you grabbed her hand as a reflex.

She looked up to you in surprise and stared at you in shock. She bowed her head. “I’m sorry miss. I mean no harm. I just need your measurements so that we may send clothing.”

You kept your grip on her hand. “I have my robes,” was all you said. 

“Yes. You do, miss. But I mean clothing for sleeping and other events.”

“What do you mean other events?” you questioned.

The servant that was preparing your food had looked up to see what was going on. “For special events, such as feasts and parties.”

You smiled slightly. “Thank you. But I won’t be going to those kind of events. Not really my thing.”

The servant you were holding spoke up. “Oh but you have to, miss! It’s part of your job now to show up for social events. And you can’t go in…” She eyed your robes. You raised a brow at her and she blushed. “Your robes are lovely miss, but not really suited for parties”

You sighed and let go of her hand. You decided to humor the servant. You figured her life was hard enough without you preventing her from doing her job. 

You raised your arms out as an indication for her to start measuring. She nodded her head once and hurriedly began taking your measurements. You watched the other servant finish preparing your food and began stacking up the trays. You wondered if you would be eating like this every night. You smiled internally at the thought.

While the girl was measuring you spoke to the other servant. 

“So will you be bringing me food here every day?” you asked.

She looked over at you. “Oh no, miss. It’s just for tonight. You’ll be joining the others for your meals after today.”

You mentally groaned. You hoped that the quality of the food would be worth spending even more time with Thor and his friends. 

The servant gripped the trays close to her chest. “We are in charge of this hallway though miss, so you will be seeing us quite often. We will be cleaning your room and bathroom, as well as doing laundry. If you need anything from us, our chambers are the last door at the end of the hallway,” she said, smiling sweetly. Even though you felt uncomfortable at the idea of being waited on, you decided you liked the girls, thinking them sweet. 

“What are your names?” you asked both the girls.

The servant holding the trays answered, “I’m Naelynn and that’s Aidrith.”

“Nice to meet you two,” you said, giving them your name and a warm smile in return. You felt that these girls would be the only company you’d enjoy while you were staying in the palace. 

The servant named Aidrith stepped back and smiled up at you. “Finished!” she exclaimed. She then eyed your robes again, her smile slipping slowly.

“Is there something wrong?” you asked her. 

“Oh n-no!” she stammered. “Well, it’s just that your robes are rather dirty. If you want, I can wash your robes for you every night. That way they’ll always be clean.”

You looked down at your robes. They were a little dirty. They had accumulated dirt and a small amount of dried blood over the last few days. You felt a little weird at the thought of giving her your robes to be cleaned, but they did need it. 

“Alright,” you answered. “Thank you.” 

Aidrith nodded and smiled at you. “We’ll come every night to collect your laundry. Clean clothes will be dropped off early in the morning.”

You smiled back at her and nodded your head. 

Aidrith and Naelynn turned away from you and made their way back to the doors. Aidrith turned around and spoke. “I’ll be back soon to drop of some clothes to wear tonight.” She turned back around and walked out the door. Before walking out as well, Naelynn spoke.

“Oh, if you ever want us to skip your room for a night because….uh…” her cheeks became pink and you furrowed your brows in confusion. She shook her head and smiled. “Just make sure to lock your door.”

You then understood what she meant and it was your turn this time to blush. “Oh! Of course. Yes,” you assured her. Naelynn smiled awkwardly and walked out the room closing the door behind her. 

You knew that you would never be needing to lock the door, seeing as there was no one here for you like that. _What if I do meet someone here?_ No. You weren’t here for that. The last time you had put your heart out, it had ended terribly. Your eyes teared up. _Fuck, don’t think of that now. Think of something else._ Before you could delve into terrible memories your stomach growled, pulling you out of your slow decent downwards. 

The smell of meat and bread filled your nose. You took a deep breath, taking everything in, and made your way towards the food. You sat down and surveyed your meal. It wasn’t the banquet you had dreamed of the night before, but it was certainly better than the meals of bruised fruit and rotting vegetables you’ve grown accustomed to. 

You nearly attacked the food. You had to make sure that you paced yourself to prevent it from just coming right back up. You hadn’t had a meal like this in ages. You were practically moaning from the taste of it. Within minutes, you had eaten enough food for three and drank an entire pitcher of water.

You leaned back and closed your eyes, digesting your food. Your pants suddenly felt too tight and you wanted nothing more than to delve into that bed. At that moment, you heard a knock and the door opened. Aidrith walked in, her hands full again, but this time with different fabrics instead of trays.

She walked towards you and started speaking. “I’ve brought you different pajamas to wear, miss. The rest of your wardrobe…will…be,” she slowed down when she eyed your empty plates. “My, you were hungry! We weren’t expecting you to eat it all. We just brought different options because we weren’t sure what you liked,” she smiled at you and she widened her eyes. “Apparently you like it all!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at Aidrith’s shocked expression. You noticed that she was a very petite woman and she seemed to have a warm heart. You barely knew her, but you enjoyed her presence. “I haven’t eaten a full meal in weeks,” you confessed. 

“I guess so!” she replied. She then seemed to remember something. “Oh! The rest of your wardrobe will be delivered tomorrow morning, along with clean robes if you give them to me now.”

You nodded and stood. She handed you a piece of the clothing from the top of the pile and gestured with her head towards the bathroom door. You made your way to the bathroom and you quickly changed out of your robes and boots. You put your hidden blades next to the sink and slipped into the nightgown that she had given you. It landed just above the knees and was made out of one of the softest fabrics you had ever felt. 

You shook out your hair and looked at yourself in the mirror. The area underneath your eyes and your cheeks were slightly hollow from not eating properly. You stared at your eyes. You felt as though they looked dull, almost lifeless. 

Your eyes. Everyone used to say that was the most beautiful feature about you. People used to compliment how they always seemed to sparkle, especially when you laughed. But they haven’t ever since… You mentally shook your head. _What is it with me tonight? Don’t think about that._

You picked your robes off of the floor and returned back to Aidrith. You found her in your closet, hanging up the last piece of clothing. She heard you approach and looked over. 

“Yay! It fits. Good. Everything else should fit as well,” she said. She walked over and you handed her your robes.

“Please be gentle with them,” you warned her nicely. 

She nodded her head. “Of course, miss.” She walked over to the table with your empty plates and quickly stacked them. She then made her way to the door, which you opened for her.

She smiled at you. “Thank you! I shall see you tomorrow morning, miss! Goodnight!”

“Goodnight,” you answered back. You closed the door behind her and turned to look at your bed. You practically grinned from ear to ear. You ran towards the bed and belly-flopped onto it. You groaned into the duvet and you felt as though you were laying on top of a cloud. If this what the guest’s bed feels like, you could only imagine what the royals’ felt like. An image of you sleeping in Loki’s bed suddenly popped up in your head. You quickly sat up and stared down in shock. 

_What in the world made me think of that?_ Then you remembered what Naelynn had said about locking the door. _No, no, no. Why am I thinking of this? Where is this coming from?_ You hadn’t looked at Loki that way before, so these intruding thoughts felt like they were coming out of nowhere. Your mind flashbacked to earlier that day with Loki in the hallway. The way you felt completely captured. 

You shook your head. _No. These are stupid thoughts. I feel nothing towards that man. I don’t view him in that way._ Hell, you were still mad at him for going against his word.

You turned off the lights and slipped under the covers. You thought over the events that occurred over the past two days. You would never have thought it would lead you to be sleeping in a comfortable bed in the palace. Certainly the reason why you were here wasn’t ideal, but it was better than spending the rest of your life in a cell.

You fell asleep quickly, with a belly full of food and warm sheets surrounding you.


	10. Chapter 10

You heard knocking on your door early the next morning. You groaned and pulled your pillow from underneath your head and into your chest, trying to hold on to the last bit of sleep. You had just experienced the best night of sleep you had in ages and you didn’t want to it to go. You heard the door open and someone enter. 

“Sorry to wake you, miss. But I’ve brought you your robes and someone will be here soon to collect you.”

You opened one eye and peeked over your pillow to see that Naelynn had entered and was holding your robes. You stretched before getting up and walking over to the servant. She handed you the robes and nodded at you, before turning around and walking out of the room. 

You looked out of the window and saw that the sun was just starting to rise. You wondered if you had to wake this early every morning. You rubbed your eyes and yawned, making your way to the bathroom.

You drew yourself a bath and cleaned yourself up. You put on you robes and boots, but decided to keep your hood down, deeming it now pointless to try and hide your identity. You exited the bathroom, grabbing your hidden blades on the way out. You then reached for your weapons and pouches and started the process of strapping them on. As soon as you buckled the last belt you heard another knock.

You opened the door and was presented with a beautiful woman with wavy brown locks down to her chest. She had on chest and shoulder armor and boots that came past her knees. You couldn’t help but stare at the beauty and strength that seemed to radiate off her. You felt as if you had seen her before, but couldn’t quite put a name to the face. 

She gave you a small but warm smile. “Good morning,” she said to you.

“Morning,” you replied, putting together that she was on of Thor’s friends. 

“Well, shall we be on our way?” she asked, gesturing with her arm to start walking. You nodded your head and exited the room, closing the door behind you. The both of you began making your way down the hallway and up several flights of stairs.

“My name is Sif,” she introduced herself as you were walking. Your mind immediately recognized the name and you knew that you had seen her around Asgard a few times before. You told her your name in return and she nodded. 

“It’s quite the interesting situation you’ve gotten yourself into,” Sif said, making small talk.

“Yes. It is,” you replied. You felt uncomfortable talking to the warrior so nonchalantly. Your instincts were telling you to be wary. To not trust her. She’s been on your opposing side the entire time you’ve been in Asgard, and you had no plan on becoming best friends just because she was being polite. 

She looked over at you and sensed your discomfort. She gave you another small smile. “I’m sure you have zero desire to be working with us. But we’re really not that horrible. If you treat us well, then you find the same reciprocated back to you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” was all you said back. 

Eventually you made it to an enormous, open room filled with different training equipment. You recognized some objects, but a lot of the items were foreign to you. You figured that Asgardians must have a different training plan than what you were been brought up with. You noticed that you and Sif were the first to arrive when she brought you over to the middle of the room.

“Well, this is where we do our training. When we’re not on an assignment or on break, this is where you would find at least one of us. Speaking of which, the others should be arriving soon,” Sif informed you.

And on cue a man you recognized as Hogun entered through the doors. He made his way towards a wall that was stacked with different weapons. “Good morning,” he said cheerily to you and Sif, nodding at both of you as he passed. He acted as if he’d known you for ages. 

“Good morning,” you and Sif said in unison. Hogun looked over his shoulder as he continued to walk and smiled cheekily. “You two make a good team already.”

You and Sif awkwardly looked at each other. “Let’s warm up shall we?” she suggested.

You simply nodded your head in return. As you were stretching she gestured her head towards Hogun. “That’s Hogun. He primarily deals with weaponry. He has an extensive knowledge of all Asgardian weapons, so if you have a question pertaining to that, go to him. He’s also an excellent horseman.”

As you watched Hogun sharpen a sword, you stored the information in your head for later, doubting you would ever need to use it. 

“Well, who might I ask is this?” you heard someone ask behind you. You spun around and saw a tall, very handsome man with scraggily blonde hair and a goatee. You told him your name and he gave you a smile. “That’s right. I received news about you late last night,” he replied.

He reached for your hand, kissed the back of it, and smiled up at you. “I’m Fandral the Dashing m’lady. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” You could practically hear Sif roll her eyes behind you. You wanted to do the same, but you kept your expression neutral out of politeness. 

“I must say. I’m very impressed with your work the other night, even though you were on the wrong side,” Fandral said, winking at you. 

“I would think you would be more concerned about the death of your men rather than my affections, Fandral _the Dashing_ ,” you said wryly. 

You heard Sif chuckle behind you. “She has a point.”

Fandral gave you a smile. “You’re a fiery one, aren’t you?”

Before you could respond, the doors opened and a massive man with long curly red hair and a beard to match came swaggering in. His arms were filled with food and he boomed out a loud ‘Good morning’ to everyone. When he spotted you he stopped.

“I know you, m’lady!” he said, waving a chicken leg at you. He then made his way towards you. “The name is Volstagg. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Well, as pleasurable as it can be considering you did kill a lot of our men. But you’re on our side now and that’s all that matters!” You tried to keep back your grimace as he mentioned being on his side. 

Volstagg poked you gently which you recoiled at but he didn’t notice. “How’d a girl like you take down all those men?” he questioned. 

Hogun joined the group at that moment holding a mace. “I was wondering the same thing,” he said. 

“You must be quite the warrior,” Fandral added.

“Trained assassin,” you corrected.

Fandral’s eyes sparkled. “Stealthy and beautiful. You’ll be a great addition,” he said. 

Hogun ignored Fandral’s comment and eyed your outfit. “Explains the robes. I recognize the symbol but can’t quite place it. Where were you trained?” he asked. This is where you had to draw the line. They may be acting polite towards you, but you weren’t going to answer every question they threw at you. 

“Not here,” was all you said.

“A mystery too,” Fandral added. “I look forward to learning more about you.” He smiled at you before making his way across the room. 

While Volstagg and Sif had started up a conversation you noticed Hogun staring at your wrists. You looked at him questioningly.

“I see you have hidden blades. I would love to take a look at them sometime. The craftsmanship isn’t one I recognize,” Hogan said.

You had no intention of handing over your hidden blades to him, even if it was just to look at them. You weren’t sure how to turn him down politely, but thankfully, Thor came in at that moment getting you out of responding.

Thor carried his hammer as well as a giant grin as he greeted everyone. He looked over at you and said, “Let’s start training” before passing you.

~

Three hours passed quickly and Thor spent the entire time gauging your abilities. He had tested you on your speed and strength, making you run and lift until your muscles burned and your lungs begged for air. He then presented you with different scenarios against himself and his friends, testing your ability to problem solve and fight. You had passed each one with ease, earning a nod from Thor each time.

“Last one before break,” Thor announced. “Let’s see your sword skills. Fandral, over here,” he called his friend over. Fandral unsheathed his foil and lunged into a fighting stance. 

“I’ll be sure to go easy on you, love,” he said, winking at you. 

You unsheathed your own sword, mimicked his stance and smirked at him. “No need,” you replied.

He raised his brow at you. When Thor announced to start, you and Fandral parried. You had to admit, he was much more skilled than the guardsmen you’d encountered the other night. You patiently waited for an opening as you continued to block his attacks, making sure that you weren’t giving him an opening as well. 

You then noticed that occasionally one of Fandral’s advances would land a little too high. _Bingo_ , you said to yourself. You waited until the next attack landed higher to make your move. You flicked his foil up to make more room when you blocked him and crouched down, swinging your leg at his own in order to trip him. As soon as he slammed against the mat, you quickly straightened and placed the point of your sword against his neck.

Fandral smiled up at you and you couldn’t help but grin back. You offered him your hand and helped him up to his feet. 

“Good,” Thor said in response. 

As you were catching your breath, Thor pulled you aside. “As much as I disagree with my father’s proposition, you’ll be a useful addition. As long as you keep yourself in line,” he warned, the hand holding the hammer twitching towards you. You looked down at the hammer and back up at Thor, narrowing your eyes. You weren’t stupid enough to go against them just to go back to prison. 

You nodded at Thor. “No need to worry,” you replied with a little bit more venom then you had intended. Thor seemed to be the only one who didn’t like that you were there.

Thor nodded back, his expression still wary. “Take a break,” Thor announced to everyone and made his way to the other side of the room.

You noticed everybody was leaving the room and decided to follow them out into the hallway. Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral made their way to the kitchens while Sif stayed by your side. 

“Let take a walk, shall we?” Sif suggested. The two of you strolled down an adjacent hall, stopping in front of a grand window. 

“I must say. I’m very glad that you’re on our side now,” Sif said, smiling warmly at you. “And I hope that you soon find the same with us.”

“You must understand why I’m wary though?” you asked Sif.

“We’re not bad people. We just watch over Asgard. Try to keep it safe best we can.”

“Many would disagree,” you said.

Sif turned towards you. “Like yourself?”

You smiled sheepishly. “You’ve arrested and killed quite a few of my acquaintances.”

“So have you,” Sif retorted politely.

You couldn’t help but smirk. “Hm. I guess so.”

“Look, we’re willing to get over what you’ve done here in Asgard. Are you willing to do the same with us? You have incredible abilities. Just imagine if you used them for others, rather than just yourself. You’ll find that the payoff is much greater.”

“Tried that once. Didn’t go so well,” you admitted.

“Well, try again. For us. For you. Okay?” Sif asked. 

You simply nodded at her and she smiled back. 

“Good! And to show our trust towards you, we will not babysit and watch your every move. We even disagree with Odin on this. This is your second chance. To be something better. And by having one of us always hanging around you, that won’t happen. Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

You smiled at Sif. “Thanks,” you said. 

She returned your smile and made her way back to the training room. You decided to take a short walk around the palace to think over the conversation you just had. 

You traveled down the different hallways, wandering aimlessly while you thought. You wondered for a moment. _Will I ever be glad that I joined them?_ Even though you were against them and what they’ve done to your friends in Asgard, they had been nothing but friendly and helpful towards you. They were telling you their battle secrets and plans. They were giving you helpful critiques, trying to improve your abilities. You could easily use this to your own advantage and give the information back to your informants in Asgard, but a part of you actually felt a little guilty thinking about doing that. 

If they were willing to be so open to accept you in their group, why couldn’t you? You decided that you would try to be just as open. Sif was right. This was an opportunity to do good again. _But am I really willing to open up again?_ you questioned. _Yes. I am. It’s time to move on from the past. It’s time to be something greater. I just hope that it doesn’t backfire on me…again._

You were in deep thought when you suddenly overheard a voice. You peeked your head around a corner and took in what was in front of you. You nearly gasped when you saw Loki slapping a young servant girl, no older than twelve, across the face. 

“You will not address me in such a manner again, do you understand?” he yelled at the young girl. Her whole body was trembling and you could tell she was trying to fight back tears. “I-I’m s-sorry, master L-Loki,” she said, her voice cracking multiple times. Something inside of you snapped.

“Hey!” you shouted at Loki as you stormed over to him. Loki looked over at you in surprise, clearly not expecting you to have shown up. “Keep your hands to yourself,” you yelled at him. The young servant girl scurried away, taking advantage of Loki’s distraction. 

Loki glared at you angrily. “You have no place in telling me what to do.”

“I do when you’re hurting innocent, little girls,” you retorted back. 

“You shall not speak to me in such a manner,” Loki spat at you. “Do not forget that you are below me. I am your prince and you should be grateful that I have given you the attention that I have.”

You furrowed your brows in confusion. This wasn’t the cheeky Loki that you were used to. You remembered him telling you that you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of his temper. 

You took a deep breath to calm yourself. 

“Look, whatever the girl did surely didn’t warrant such actions,” you tried to reason. “You shouldn’t physically react just because she did something irritating.”

Loki scoffed at you. “Please don’t be a hypocrite. Why would I take advice from someone who doesn’t even follow their own?” Loki turned his back to you and walked down the hallway, anger radiating all over him. A passing servant cowered against the wall when he saw Loki. 

You stood there stunned. You realized that Loki was absolutely right in you being a hypocrite. You thought to back to all times where you did the complete opposite of what you advised. You groaned and leaned back against the wall. _I’m so set in my ways. Is it even possible to turn back to the way I used to be? Will I have to change who I am in order to cooperate with Thor and his friends?_


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My longest chapter yet! Ah! Thank you for all the kudos and really nice comments! <3

You retraced your steps and made your way back to the training room. When you entered you noticed the boys had returned from the kitchen and everyone was eating on one of the benches. Volstagg was the first to notice your arrival.

“Ah! Welcome back, m’lady! We have brought back food for everyone. Come join us!”

You gave him a small smile and made your way to the table, sitting down next to Sif. 

“Weren’t doing anything illegal, were you?” Sif asked, half teasing half serious.

“Ha ha,” you sarcastically laughed, while reaching for the jam.

“You’ll be joining us for dinner tonight, correct m’lady? I’m certain Frigga wants to meet you,” Fandral asked, changing the topic.

“I didn’t think that the warriors ate with the royals,” you replied.

“My friends are an exception,” Thor interjected. You wondered for a moment if he was including you in that statement. You highly doubted it. 

“I suppose I’ll join if I have to,” you said, looking at Thor questioningly. He nodded his head at you.

“Excellent!” Volstagg exclaimed.

After everyone finished eating, a servant came in and cleaned up the mess. The group then dispersed across the room to continue on training. While you were walking, you pulled Sif to the side. “I have no clue where dinner is being hosted,” you confessed.

Sif smiled at you. “I’ll come to your door right before and bring you with me,” she offered.

You smiled gratefully at her. “Thank you,” you replied.

You and Sif then joined the others and continued on with your training. 

~

When training had ended and everyone was leaving the room, Sif offered to take you back to your room. You accepted and the two of you made you way back down to your chambers.

“I think the architect designed one of the most confusing floor plans,” you joked to Sif as you turned down another hallway.

Sif laughed. “You’ll learn your way quickly.” 

Eventually you made it back to your room and you opened the door. 

“Make sure to wear something nice,” Sif advised before you entered. “I’ll be back in about an hour.” You nodded your head in response and closed the door behind you.

You walked over to your closet and opened the doors. You found that Naelynn and Aidrith must have filled it even more while you were training. You put your hands on your hips and stared at the selection you were presented with. 

There were dresses of all kinds hanging from the bars. Everything from extravagant ball gowns to casual dresses you saw the rich women of Asgard wear. You felt completely out of your element. _Everything in this closet is nice_ , you thought angrily. You had no idea which dress you were supposed to wear.

You walked out of your room and went down to the end of the hallway. You knocked on the last door, hoping that someone was in there. Aidrith opened the door and you mentally sighed in relief. 

“Hello, miss!” Aidrith greeted, curtsying. “Is there something I can assist you with?” she asked. 

“Um. Yes, there is. I have no idea what I’m supposed to wear,” you admitted. 

Aidrith broke out in a grin. “I’d love to help you, miss!” she exclaimed. Aidrith closed the door behind her and lead you back into your room and closet. She pushed aside the different hangers, trying to pick out the right one while you stood awkwardly behind her watching.

“Why did they give me such an expensive selection?” you asked Aidrith as she pulled a dress out of the closet. You noticed that they were treating you like you were someone important, rather than a criminal.

“You’re now a part of King Odin’s elite forces, miss. Which means that you’re treated like one of them as well,” Aidrith answered. She paused for a moment, as if debating whether or not to continue her train of thought.

“What?” you questioned the servant.

She looked up at you sheepishly. “Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s also an incentive to stay on their side. Treat you like royalty and you won’t turn on them,” Aidrith admitted.

“I don’t get why they think I’m such a force to be reckoned with,” you said more to yourself than Aidrith. 

Aidrith simply shrugged and handed you the dress. “Here you go! This will be perfect! If you ever need my help picking out clothes again, just let me know!” Aidrith walked out of the room, giving you privacy to change.

“I have a feeling that’ll be every night,” you mumbled to yourself. You slipped out of your clothes and put the dress on. It was a deep shade of blue that went all the way to the floor. It fit perfectly, showing off the curve of your hips and breasts perfectly. The sleeves were sheer and ended right below your elbow. There was silver plate that went around your stomach, more for decoration rather than protection. 

You stared at yourself in the mirror. It wasn’t the most extravagant dress in the world, but you felt immensely dressed-up. You never wore clothes like this, having only worn items similar to your robes. You couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. You weren’t sure whether or not if you liked wearing such attire. 

You heard a quiet knock on the door and it opening. “Are you dressed, miss?” you heard Aidrith ask.

You turned around and put your arms out to the side, showing yourself off. 

Aidrith gasped. “You look wonderful, miss! Absolutely stunning! I can’t wait to put you in a ball gown one day!”

You laughed. “One step at a time. I’m not sure if I even like this.”

“You should, miss. It looks absolutely perfect. I wouldn’t be surprised if you catch someone’s eye tonight,” she playfully winked.

You blushed and turned around to hide you face. You thought back earlier today to Fandral’s light flirting and wondered how he would react to you tonight. 

Aidrith chuckled. “I’m just teasing, miss. Here, put these on your feet.”

You turned back around and accepted the pair of flats she offered you. You slipped them on and admired them in the mirror. They weren’t as comfortable as your boots, but they worked better the dress.

“Um, miss?”

You looked over at Aidrith. 

“Would you mind if I did your hair?” she asked shyly while giving you puppy dog eyes.

You couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure,” you replied. You weren’t too keen on having your hair extravagantly styled, but you couldn’t say no to the expression she was giving you. Her face broke out into a big smile and she led you into the bathroom.

Aidrith chatted to you rapidly as she styled your hair. While she was talking, you wondered if you would had to get this dressed up every time you had to go to dinner. You already felt exhausted thinking of that possibility. Aidrith quickly finished your hair. She had formed gentle waves with the sides pinned up, making you somehow look different. 

“You look lovely, miss,” Aidrith gushed behind you.

You then heard a knock. You exited the bathroom with Aidrith behind you and opened the door to find Sif waiting for you. You noticed that she had dressed herself up quite a bit as well. She now wore a one shoulder, dark peach dress instead of her armor.

“Ready?” Sif asked.

“Uh, yes,” you replied, turning back to look at Aidrith.

“Have fun, miss!” she said. You and Aidrith both exited the room but went your separate ways. You and Sif made your way to the dining hall where Sif explained you would be having most of your formal meals.

“Is it really necessary to dress up for dinner here?” you asked Sif as you went up a flight of stairs.

“Only when we’re eating with Odin and Frigga, which is occasionally. We usually only meet for dinner if Odin needs to speak with us.”

You breathed a mental sigh of relief. You wouldn’t have to go through this process _every_ night. 

As you and Sif approached the dining hall’s doors, you suddenly felt a little nervous. You couldn’t tell if it was because you were about to eat with Odin or if it was because you felt a little self-conscious about your attire.

You and Sif entered the hall and you found that you were the last two people to arrive. Everyone was standing in different groups, casually talking with one another. You thought back to your altercation with Loki earlier that day and hoped that he wouldn’t be attending. Unfortunately at that moment, you noticed that Loki was standing with Volstagg and Fandral. 

Fandral had turned to see who entered and his eyes slightly widened when they landed on you. Loki noticed Fandral’s expression and turned to see what he was looking at. Loki did a double take and his lips parted slightly, as if in shock. You couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed as well as a little flattered at their gazes. You ignored them as best you could and followed where Sif was walking.

Sif brought you over to Queen Frigga, who was talking with Hogun and Thor. You realized that you hadn’t met the queen until now and became a little nervous. As you and Sif approached, Frigga peaked her head in interest at you.

“Hello there,” she said to you. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you. An excellent warrior I’ve been told.”

“Only as good as my last fight, your majesty,” you said back.

Frigga smiled gently. “Humble too,” she replied. “I hope you find your stay here comfortable. I know that you have bit of a rough past, but perhaps working with my son will change that around.”

“Possibly,” you replied to Frigga. 

“Possibly,” she repeated.

“Dinner will be served in five minutes,” a servant announced, turning back around through the door he must have entered. 

“Let’s be seated, shall we?” Frigga suggested.

As you made your way to the table you made sure to keep your head down, to keep yourself from accidently meeting your eyes with Loki. After the encounter you had with him earlier that day, you didn’t know how to approach him or what mood he would be in. Suddenly, you heard someone speak to you from your left.

“My, my. Who might I ask this ravishing lady is?”

You looked to your left confused and saw Fandral eyeing you up and down. 

“Oh it’s you, m’lady. I didn’t recognize you there,” Fandral teased, flashing you a smile. “It would be an honor if I may sit next to you tonight.”

“Sure. Go ahead,” you replied bluntly, trying to ignore his flirting. As you were sitting, you peeked over at Loki, who was approaching the table. You noticed his eyes grazing your form and you couldn’t help but give him a teasing, questioning look in response. Loki quickly looked away when his eyes met with yours.

Suddenly, another possible motive for Loki taking interest in you came to you. _Could he like me…in that way?_ No, that can’t be it. You just happened to run in him at the wrong time and place. It was by pure coincidence that the two of you had met that night. He was interested in you because of your motive not actually you. He was interested in the past life you plan to keep secret, not who you were now. You were certain that once he found out who you really were and where you came from, the mystery would be solved and he would become bored with you. 

But just now…he had been in shock to see you so dressed up. He had been looking at your form. Could it have been because there is a deeper interest? No. You were overthinking things. 

You sat down in between Fandral and Sif, while Loki took his seat next to Thor. Odin naturally sat at the head of the table with Thor to his right and Frigga to his left. Next to Loki sat Hogun.

The first course of the meal was soon presented and everyone took up light chatting. Thor and Odin discussed past battles, while Sif and Frigga began talking about the different events that happened in Asgard that day. Hogun and Fandral were talking about different styles of swords.

You took to eating your food, not interested in making conversation. You kept your head down and focused on your plate. You and Loki were the only ones who remained quiet. You then heard Odin call your name from the head of the table. Your head snapped up and you looked over.

“I trust you were on your best behavior today,” Odin said to you.

“Yes, your majesty,” you said quietly.

“She’s quite the assassin, my lord,” Fandral added. “You sure did pick a good one.”

“I should hope so. Do not let me regret letting you join my table.”

“Yes, your majesty,” you repeated.

“Good,” Odin said. He put down his fork and wiped his mouth. “I have an assignment for all of you,” Odin announced. “Nothing too serious, but it’s a good test for our new recruit here,” Odin said, eyeing you and giving you a stern expression. 

“There’s been rumor of unrest in Vanaheim directed towards us. I want you all to go and investigate to see if you can settle them back down. Try to avoid conflict if you can,” Odin explained, giving Thor a look in the last statement. Everyone nodded at Odin, accepting the mission.

“You shall all leave first thing in the morning. Be sure to get a good night’s rest,” Odin added. The servants came back in replaced your plates with the second course, the entire table silent. Volstagg cleared his throat and started back up a conversation you had no desire in joining. You went back to focusing on your food instead. 

“You’re quite the talker this evening,” you heard Fandral whisper in your ear. “Don’t tell me you’re shy now that you’re all dressed up.”

“This isn’t really my style,” you admitted, a faint blush crawling up your neck.

“I would disagree,” Fandral replied, his hand brushing gently over your knee underneath the table.

You picked his hand off of your leg and returned it to his side, not knowing any other way to turn him down. Thankfully, Fandral pulled his attention away from you when Hogun asked him a question.

The rest of dinner seemed to drag on, but you were on your best behavior with Odin watching your every move. You spoke only when directly spoken to and pretended to be engaged in stories by absently nodding your head. Odin constantly asked questions pertaining to your behavior that day, which you had to constantly reiterate to him that you hadn’t done anything to go against him. You also had to try your best not to knock Fandral out of his chair every time he tried to blatantly flirt with you. 

You breathed a sigh of relief when the last of the plates were taken away and Odin had dismissed everyone from the table. You nearly jumped out of your seat. You wanted nothing more than to go back to your room.

“Let me walk you back to your chambers, m’lady,” Fandral offered you as everyone stood. You had no desire to walk back with the warrior, but you were certain that you would get lost if you tried to go back yourself. As much as you didn’t want to accept, you did need the help. 

“Um, sure. That would be helpful,” you accepted his offer.

He gave you a grin. “Wonderful.” He offered out his arm and you politely took it. Fandral escorted you out of the dining hall and the two of you started to make your way back to your room. 

“I have to admit, I’m very intrigued by you. A secret assassin, who turns herself in to Thor and now works for Odin. Add that to the fact you like to keep your past a secret. I would love to sit down and swap stories with you sometime,” Fandral said.

“She’ll be busy,” someone answered for you. You and Fandral looked over and saw Loki walking towards the both of you. 

“I’m sorry?” Fandral asked. 

Loki ignored Fandral and looked directly towards you. “Odin wishes to see you,” he said. 

You looked back confused. You had no idea why Odin would want to speak with you. You had answered all his questions at dinner. 

“I’ll take her to him,” Fandral offered. He gave Loki an inscrutable look. 

“That won’t be necessary,” Loki replied. “Odin wishes to talk to both of us.”

Now you were really confused. Was it about the other night and sphere? You looked up at Fandral. 

“I’ll go with Loki. It’ll be fine. Thank you for offering though,” you said, giving him a small smile.

“As you wish, m’lady,” Fandral said, taking your hand and kissing the back of it. You heard Loki sigh impatiently. 

“I shall see you tomorrow,” Fandral said. He nodded at Loki before turning around and making his way down the hall.

“Are you done flirting now?” Loki asked harshly, turning around and started to walk quickly.

You had to jog in order to catch up. “I wasn’t flirting with him and even if I was, it wouldn’t be any of your business,” you said. 

Loki stopped suddenly and turned to you. “Don’t put your trust in Fandral. He doesn’t have your best interests at heart,” he said.

“Oh?” you raised your brows. “And you do?”

“You didn’t see the way he was looking at you tonight,” Loki practically spat out.

“Why would you even ca-”you paused. Everything in your mind clicked together at that moment. You tried to keep a smile down as you asked, “Odin doesn’t want to see me, does he?”

Loki turned his head, looking in the other direction.

You couldn’t help but grin at that moment. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?” you accused. “You didn’t like that another man found me interesting. That you’re not the only one who wants to figure me out. You want to be the only one, don’t you?”

Loki didn’t answer and started to walk back down the hall. You couldn’t help but giggle. 

“So why will I be so busy that I can’t get together with Fandral?” you asked Loki. Loki again ignored your answer and turned down another hallway. You couldn’t help but tease him at this new discovery. 

“If you’re just going to ignore me, I’m going to turn around and find Fandral. He’d love to answer all my questions,” you said, smirking when Loki stopped. 

He turned around and eyed you. “Don’t be daft. Your questions are just absurd.”

“Uh huh. I’m sure they are,” you said, smirking as you walked towards Loki. His eyes narrowed at you, questioning what you were about to do. You knew that he wasn’t answering your questions for a reason. You remembered your thoughts from earlier that night. When you wondered if he found you intriguing for another aspect. If he viewed you more than just another warrior with a mysterious past.

You gently pushed Loki against the wall. You were slightly surprised when he didn’t try to fight off your advances. You looked Loki directly in the eyes as you slowly began to brush your hand down his chest. He kept his expression smooth, revealing nothing. Your mind flashed back to your thoughts the night before. How you imagined being in his bed. You were still pissed off at him, but curiosity was taking the best of you. 

You slowly raised yourself on your tip-toes and put your mouth by his ear. “Do you want to be the only one to figure me out, Prince Loki?” you asked seductively. You changed your hand’s direction, bringing it upwards. As you brushed your hand across his neck and down to his collar bone, you skimmed your nose underneath his jar, your breath tickling his neck.

Loki didn’t answer you, so you tried again. You gently pushed your hips against his and repeated yourself. “Do you want to figure me out? To know about my past?” You pressed your chest against his and you heard a deep rumble come from within him. 

“To know my secrets?” You skimmed both your hands down his side, stopping at his hips. You looked back up into his eyes. His expression hadn’t changed but his eye color had darkened and you saw a deep hunger within them. You brought your lips closer and closer to his. “To know what makes…me…tick?” Your lips were barley touching his when Loki laughed. 

“Don’t start things that you are unable to finish,” Loki said, his voice lower than normal. 

You pulled back slightly. “Oh? I’m the one who started all this? Maybe you should start answering my questions. Or do I have to force them out of you?” you feigned innocence, but enforced your threat by pushing your body a little harder against his.

Loki smiled at you, “Will you promise me something?” he asked.

You gave him a questioning look. “Depends,” you answered warily. You were starting to get frustrated that you weren’t having the effect on him that you had planned.

“Now that you’re working with Thor and his friends, don’t become like them,” Loki explained.

“Why?”

He gave you a dark chuckle and gently pushed you away. He started to walk down the hall when he answered, “You’re much more fun the way you are now.”


	12. Chapter 12

“I have no intention of becoming like Thor,” you said to Loki as you jogged to catch up.

“Good. I don’t want you to,” Loki replied.

“I’m still angry at you, you do realize that?” you asked.

Loki gave you a mischievous look. “It didn’t seem like you were a moment ago.”

You scoffed and shook your head. Loki gave you a questioning look. “What the hell is it with you with ignoring my questions and giving me weird answers?” you asked. 

Loki smiled. “Maybe you shouldn’t ask me absurd questions.”

“See? There you go again! My questions aren’t absurd. You just don’t want to answer them, for whatever reason.”

Loki sighed and turned towards you, giving you look of annoyance. “What do you want to know?”

“No weird answers?” you asked.

Loki sighed again. “Just ask me the damn question.”

You started with the first one that came to your mind. “Why didn’t you speak for me at the trial?”

Loki smirked. “Because I had already spoken on your behalf.”

You wrinkled your brows in confusion. “Excuse me?”

Loki began walking again. “I was the one who gave Odin the idea of you joining his side.”

“Are you being serious right now?” you asked.

Loki looked over at you. “Absolutely. I spoke to him the night before your trial and explained to him your talents and how it would be more useful to have you on our side, rather than against us. He accepted it and agreed to propose it to you.”

So it was because of Loki you weren’t sitting in that jail cell right now, not Odin. “But how did you explain what you knew about me without admitting you were there as well?” you asked.

Loki chuckled. “That’s the thing. I had to admit that I was there. Odin didn’t take it too well unsurprisingly, but I managed to get by.”

“How?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Loki replied, giving you a small smile. 

“But why would you want me to join Odin’s forces?”

“I don’t. But it was the best way to get you out. Make him believe that you could be on his side. That he could have another powerful addition to his army. Naturally, I was cautious with my phrasing, ensuring I didn’t add any suspicion. By putting you on his side, it removed me from the equation.”

“Wait. Does this mean you wanted me on your side?” 

“Still do,” Loki admitted. He sighed. “I shouldn’t be revealing this to you. The less you knew, the better this would have worked. I need Odin to believe that you are really working for him, which obviously works best if you believe the same.” Loki eyed you. “But now that’s all changed. So now that you know, I need you to try your best to not add any suspicion. I need you to convince them that you’ve changed, that you’re on their side. But please don’t actually convert to their ideals. I need the woman I met the other night, not another Thor. Keep good relations with them, but really work for me or rather my side.”

“So you did this for your own motives and well-being, not my own,” you accused.

“Not true,” he gave you a look. “Don’t forget that it was I who got you out from rotting in the dungeons. Also, I am still very interested in you. By you working with me, I can find out more about you. You are quite the puzzle,” Loki said, smirking at you. 

Before you realized it, you had arrived at your door.

“What would I be doing for you?”

Loki chuckled. “See, that’s why I wanted to wait to tell you. You’re not ready to know quite yet. You’re not the only one wary of who they trust to work with.”

“What if I don’t want to work with you?”

Loki gave you a smile. “I don’t think you’ll really have a choice. It is because of me that you’re not laying in that cell right now. You are in my debt.”

You couldn’t believe everything that Loki was telling you. Even though he was still being somewhat vague, this was the most he had opened up to you. You were genuinely surprised that he had told you this much. 

You turned towards your door and placed your hand on the handle. 

“I still don’t get why Odin would trust me to join his forces after I tried to steal his sphere.”

Loki laughed and you looked over at him confused. “I’ve been wondering that about myself my whole life,” he said, turning around and walking back down the hall.

You sighed and opened your door. It was taking you a while to digest what Loki had told you. You knew that he spoke to Odin for his own self-interest, to get your abilities on his side, but you felt that there was more he was still refusing to tell you. You slipped out of your dress and shook out your hair. You then changed into your pajamas and climbed into bed. 

~

You woke up early the next morning before the sun had even begun to rise. You quickly got ready and left to go find the kitchens. It took thirty minutes and directions from four different servants, but you eventually reached your destination.

The kitchen was just as grand as all the other rooms in the palace. It was filled with bustling chefs and servants of all ages, preparing food and filling trays to be taken to their respective masters. You smelled the cooking of eggs mixed with the clumps of rising dough on the counters. As you walked further into the kitchen, you discovered a long table next to a huge fireplace, already roaring and cooking a pot you figured was a meal for later that day.

You found Volstagg and Hogun sitting in the middle of the table, food filling up the entire area in front of them. Volstagg noticed you approach. 

“Good morning, m’lady! Are you ready to venture out today?” Volstagg asked enthusiastically. 

“I suppose,” you answered back. You had no idea how you were even going to help out. You were only leaving today to investigate, not fight. You had no diplomatic training or knowledge of how to settle down a possible riot. You were always the one you helped start them, not stop them.

When you finished breakfast, Volstagg, Hogun, and you went upstairs and for the first time in days, you exited the palace. You entered a courtyard located in the front of the palace and waited for the others. Sif and Fandral soon joined you, and shortly after them, Thor and Loki. _Loki?_

“Let’s be on our way,” Thor said seriously, walking past everyone towards the stables. The group followed suit. As you were walking, you went up to Loki’s side. 

“Why are you joining us?” you asked seriously. 

“Please don’t act too enthused to see me,” Loki replied sarcastically.

“Why are you here?” you asked again. 

Loki eyed Thor’s back. “Odin wanted me to join. Make sure that Thor doesn’t rush into things too quickly. He has tendency to be brash,” Loki said irritably. 

You laughed and Loki looked at you curiously. “A thing we agree on,” you explained. Loki hid a smile as he looked back forward.

Hogun handed you a dark grey steed, its reigns made out of expensive black leather. You mounted your horse with ease and waited for everyone else to join. You glanced to your left and noticed Fandral eyeing you. You suppressed a sighed and looked forward, ignoring him. As soon as everyone was ready, you traveled across the bifrost and towards the giant golden dome that greeted you at the end. When you arrived, you dismounted your horse and entered.

The room still looked no less impressive than the first time you had entered what seemed like ages ago. In the center of the room were steps that led up to a circular pedestal where Heimdall stood, hands tightly gripped on his sword that sat in its respective place, a lock in key. The curved walls were covered in giant wheel-like embellishments that opened up to one huge circular window. You couldn’t help but become entranced as you looked out into the cosmos, feeling significantly smaller. 

Thor approached Heimdall and spoke, pulling you out of your moment. Thor explained the situation to him and where they needed to be taken. Heimdall seemed to pay no attention as he scanned the group with his large, golden eyes.

“I see you have an addition to your team,” Heimdall said, looking directly at you. You confidently stared back into his golden eyes. You silently warned him to stop talking right there and then. The last thing you needed was for Heimdall to mention more than you wanted him to.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Heimdall said to you. You closed your eyes. _Shit. Too far._ Everyone turned to you at that moment with questioning eyes. Thor spoke.

“You know her, Heimdall?” he asked.

You gave Heimdall a death glare, but he seemed unfazed. “Of course I do. I see everyone,” he replied.

Thor shook his head. “You know that’s not what I mean. You’ve interacted with her before?”

Heimdall broke his gaze with you and looked over at Thor. “Of course. How else did she enter Asgard?” This caused everyone to look back over at you again. 

“You let a criminal into the city? A dangerous assassin?” Thor questioned. You almost laughed. _Whelp. That answers the question of how Thor still views me._

“She wasn’t a threat when she came to me,” Heimdall answered.

“Alright, that’s enough,” you interjected. “We have more important things we need to be getting to.”

Loki spoke up. “I would actually like to stay here and learn more,” he said cheekily, giving you a roguish smile. 

You turned your death glare over at Loki, which only made him smile more. 

“May we get going now please?” Sif said at that moment. You silently thanked her.

“Of course,” Heimdall replied. He then opened a portal causing a light to explode around the dome, temporarily blinding you. In an instant you and the group were transported to Vanaheim and your location of interest. When you opened your eyes, you found yourself in a dense wooden area.

You could hear the calls of different birds in the distance and rustling of the tree’s leaves as a breeze passed through. Sunlight became scattered as it traveled through the dense canopy, providing you with sun you hadn’t felt in days. You took in a deep breath as you finally tasted fresh air. 

Instinctively, you flipped your hood over your head now that you were in a new area. 

“Back to that are we?” you heard Loki comment next to you. You ignored him as you followed the group down a narrow, dirt path that ran through the forest. 

Loki hurried his steps and jogged past everyone to catch up with Thor. 

“Brother, be sure to be cautious with your words when we arrive. We don’t want another incident,” Loki warned Thor. 

“I will do what I have to, Loki. If I find them a threat, then I will act accordingly,” Thor replied.

“That’s how you’ll get us all killed,” Loki said. “Please let me do the speaking,” he pleaded with Thor. 

“I would never let anyone get hurt,” Thor said back, ignoring Loki’s request. 

Loki sighed irritably at Thor. You observed the conversation that continued between the two brothers. You noticed that they certainly had different ideas when it came to battle. You thought back to the other night when you fought side by side with Loki. You remembered thinking how Loki fought more intelligently rather than with brute force. You could now see that side coming out again. You understood why Loki wanted to handle the situation more diplomatically, rather than going in and bashing everything with a hammer. 

The group continued to follow behind Thor and Loki as they continued to bicker. You could smell that you were nearing your location before you could see it. Smoke, from what you assumed to be from fire pits, filled the air along with another scent you couldn’t quite place. The trees around you began to thin more and more the further you walked, gradually showing more sky overhead.

You finally reached the edge of the forest that opened up to a giant clearing. You could see different huts scattered along the field in front of you. You were correct about the smoky smell as you saw columns of grey rising up from different chimneys, a stark contrast against the blue of the sky. 

“Assassin,” you heard Thor snap at you. You looked over at him.

“You are to go and perform a reconnaissance on this clearing. I want you to return in less than ten minutes with the information. Should be easy with your training.”

You gave him a mock salute. “Aye aye, Mighty Thor!”

You walked past the group and directly into the clearing. You noticed the unfamiliar smell became stronger the further you walked into the field. You could also hear the hum of people’s conversations become louder the closer you came to your destination. The number of huts began to thicken and you made sure to keep behind them as you journeyed more into the field, preventing any passersby from seeing you. You noticed that the huts were placed in a circular formation, surrounding another large field in the middle. 

When you reached the middle of the huts, you came up to a giant crowd that had formed in the field. Over the buzz of their talking you could hear one shouting a little bit louder than the rest. You couldn’t see this mystery shouter over the crowd’s heads so you jogged over to the nearest hut and scaled it with ease. You walked over to the chimney in the center of the roof and crouched behind it. 

You peaked around the corner and saw that there had to have been at least a hundred people present. You knew that Vanaheim was similar to Asgard so you assumed that the people that looked like you were the Vanir. But as you scanned the crowed, you saw different creatures mixed within as well, standing more towards the center of the group. These creatures were from all over the spectrum, but they all were wearing the same kind of black armor and holding threatening looking weapons. You saw that the crowd was surrounding a red creature with two giant horns, the mystery shouter.

“Are you just going sit back and let Asgard dictate what you can and can’t do? It’s time that you stood up for yourselves and took what was rightfully yours. We help you attack Asgard and you give us payment in return.”

“We’re peaceful with Asgard,” you heard someone shout from the middle of group.

“How can you be after everything Odin and Thor has done?” the horned creature shouted back. “It’s time to open your eyes and see how you’ve been treated!”

Whatever these creatures were, it looked like they were trying to rally the Vanir against Asgard, for whatever reason. You decided that you had seen enough.

You retreated backwards and jumped off the hut, jogging back to the group who were hiding within the dense forest. Thor came walking forwards as you made your way to cover. 

“There’s about a hundred total individuals out there. Also, it isn’t the people of Vanaheim who are unhappy, it’s another group that’s trying to convince them of rallying against you.”

“Who is this group?” Thor asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen them before. They’re made of a different races of beings. They’ve all got black armor on.”

“Marauders,” Thor realized. 

“Uh, sure,” you said. “Whoever they are, you sure did something to piss them off. They’re planning an attack against Asgard.”

Thor practically growled. “They shall do no such thing!” Thor turned to the rest of the group. “We are to go in break them up immediately. Put an end to them before they can turn the Vanir against us.”

Loki was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed when he sighed loudly. “Thor, do not barge in there and attack. It’ll only make things worse. They’ll just rally together again, only this time with a real reason to be angry at us,” he said looking incredibly tired at Thor, as if he was a parent repeating himself to a child. 

“Brother, listen here. They’re already planning on attacking us with force. These are Marauders we’re dealing with now, not the Vanir. Talking to them won’t ensure they back down. By knocking them down now and bringing those who surrender to prison, there won’t be anyone start a rally again,” Thor retorted.

You looked over at the rest of the group to see their reactions. They all had the same bored face, as if they’ve heard this conversation a million times before. 

“You’re putting everyone at risk by running into battle with no thought. We’re clearly outnumbered,” Loki replied.

“We’ll have the Vanir on our side,” Thor said. He then turned to you. “Have they joined the Marauders? Are they believing what they are saying?” Thor asked you.

“Not at the moment, no,” you answered.

“See, brother? She has confirmed that Vanaheim will fight with us!”

“Please don’t bring me in this,” you said to Thor. You didn’t want it to be on your word that Thor decided to run into battle like a mad man. 

Loki sighed and pushed off the tree. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you if this comes back to haunt you,” he told Thor.

Thor practically grinned and you rolled your eyes. You hated how he was eager to jump in and make you fight alongside him in something he caused that could have been prevented. He turned to the rest of the group.

“We shall force ourselves in the middle that group, straight towards the Marauders. If they do not back down, do not hesitate to attack. Defend each other at all times. Strike when the opportunity presents itself. We’ll take back those who surrender. If they are merciless then so are you. Everyone ready?”

Everyone nodded their heads and readied their weapons, except for you and Loki. 

“Then let’s fight!” Thor shouted and turned to go into the clearing.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** Depictions of violence do get a little detailed in this chapter!

Loki sighed irritably and began to make his way into the clearing, following the rest of the group. You followed suit and tried to keep a laugh down. You couldn’t help but find the dynamic relationship between the two brothers amusing. You wondered how they could have possibly gotten along when growing up. 

“You two bicker like old women,” you teased Loki as the two of you crossed the field. You could hear Thor shouting out in the distance. You couldn’t detect any sound of metal so you assumed they hadn’t attacked yet. 

“Thor is going destroy Asgard if he keeps thinking so brash. He’s going to anger a lot of people if he continues this when he rules,” Loki replied, anger clearly laced within his tone.

“What does Odin possibly see in him that’ll make him a great leader?” you asked Loki.

At this Loki laughed harshly. “I knew I liked you for a reason,” he replied. 

The two of you finally made it up behind the large crowd and you tried to peer over the many different shapes of heads, trying to find Thor. You still heard his shouting, but it was slightly muffled over the buzz of the crowd that had become louder when Thor had entered. 

“Prince Loki?” you heard a female ask to your left. You looked over and nearly did a double take. The woman who had approached was probably one of the most beautiful people you had ever seen. She had wavy dirty blonde hair that went down to her midriff. She had pale, full lips and piercing hazel eyes that were framed with dark, thick eyebrows. Her perfect body was emphasized by a tight fitting gold dress and armor that wrapped around her chest and arms. The mystery women oozed desire and sex. To say that you felt intimidated, would have been an understatement. 

“Ah, Freyja. It’s a pleasure to see you again,” Loki replied giving her an impish expression. You looked between the two, searching their expressions, trying to figure out what their past history could have possibly been. You didn’t know why, but you immediately hated the idea of Loki having a history with a woman this beautiful. 

“What brings you to this lovely fight that’s about to break out?” Loki asked, giving her a smile. You suddenly imagined clocking Loki in the face right there and then. _What is it with me?_ you thought. _Why do I care so much about Loki and this woman?_

“I was sent here to investigate this invasion of the Marauders in this village. But I see that Thor has already got that covered,” she gave Loki a seductive look and you gave the woman a stink eye from underneath your hood. “Odin meddling in Vanaheim’s affairs?”

“The Marauders were attempting to rile your people against Asgard. Naturally, Odin is going to want to stop it.”

Freyja laughed delicately. “I shouldn’t say that I’m surprised,” she replied. You heard Thor beginning to raise his voice over the crowd.

“You will regret not heeding my warning!” Thor yelled from the middle of the group. You then heard the sound of crackling thunder followed by a large boom that reverberated throughout the large group. There was a split second of complete silence before the sound of metal being unsheathed broke out.

You pulled out your own sword and Loki took out his dagger. Freyja began backing away from the now fighting crowd and smiled at Loki. “I shall see you after the battle,” she said winking at Loki. Before you dove into the crowd and aid Thor, you looked over at Loki who had almost a smug look on his face. 

“What? Is she not able to assist us?” you asked with venom that you didn’t even bother try hiding. “Or does she not want her hair to become ruined?”

Loki gave you a curious look. “She will be aiding us more after the battle,” he answered vaguely. You then noticed a smile beginning to curl on the edge of his lips. You turned away from him before he could make another comment and ran into the middle of the battle that had broken out. 

The fighting between the Marauders and Vanir people created a blurry mix, causing you to be more careful of where you landed your attacks. The two groups of people were so different looking that it made it much easier to distinguish between them. 

You found yourself filled with energy and extra strength. You figured that it was because you were in such an unfamiliar situation. You had never been in a fight this large before and it was certainly different from the stealthy work you were trained to perform. You worked in the shadows, not the battlefield. You found that you had to watch your back more carefully and had to be extra cautious of where you swung your sword. 

A Marauder with a skull mask and two small horns coming out of his head suddenly came charging at you. You lodged your sword within him before he could do any damage to you. His weight and momentum caused you to be pushed backwards and you found yourself falling along with him. You grunted as he fell on top of you and you felt all the air within you burst. You figured that he had to have weighed more than three hundred pounds. You noticed that he reeked of a disgusting smell that reminded you of rotten eggs and garbage that had been laying out in the sun.

You were gagging as you pushed the Marauder off of you and saw another one come running at you with an ax. You immediately rolled to the side and onto your stomach, hearing a ‘thunk’ as the metal pierced the grass next to your head. 

As he was lifting the ax back out, you quickly pushed yourself up and rolled onto the balls of your feet. You took a few steps backwards to give yourself more of distance to make what you were about to do to work. Before he could swing the ax back at you, you pulled out a rope dart from your belt and whipped it at him. The blade attached to the end of the thin rope contained small, but very sharp ridges that once caught in flesh, would hook itself in. The more you would try to tug the blade out, the more it would get stuck within the flesh. 

The blade had lodged itself right into the Marauder’s neck and he dropped his ax in surprise. You forcefully tugged the rope you were holding, causing the blade to become further lodged into his neck. Blood rapidly squirted out, spraying all over himself and quickly pooling underneath him. You forcefully tugged the rope one more time, forcing him to fall to his knees and stomach. 

You dropped the thin rope and dislodged your hidden blade into the back of his neck, ensuring his death. You then approached the Marauder that had attacked you earlier and laced your hands around your sword’s grip. You tugged upwards, but the sword didn’t budge. You had to put one foot on top of the Marauder’s belly for leverage as you tugged harder the second time. The sword finally slid out and you found it covered in blood and fluid from his digestive system. Between your soaked sword and the open wound in front of you, came one of the worst smells you had ever encountered. 

You were certainly used to the smell of blood and wounds but nothing compared to the odor that the Marauders produced. You started to gag as you wiped your blade against the fallen Marauder. “What the fuck did you eat?” you spat at the dead creature. Your stomach forcefully heaved at that moment and you had to use a lot of will power to keep down your breakfast. 

You heard a loud ‘clang’ behind your head at that moment and you quickly spun around. You saw a hammer whiz by your face and you looked over at the direction it traveled. Thor caught it in his open hand and turned, continuing on with the battle.

You looked to your right and saw a fallen Marauder that must have been charging at your back. _Thor just saved my life_ , you thought. He could have easily let you fall and he would have been done with you. He would no longer have to worry about you being on his side anymore, yet he actually saved you.

You caught up with the rest of the group and continued on with the battle. You made sure to watch your group’s back as they watched yours. The Marauder’s numbers began to thin out steadily. The Vanir’s forces working with your own was helping to overpower the enemies. The battle would soon be finished. 

You suddenly heard the sound of someone grunting loudly and the clattering of metal behind you. You swiveled around and saw that a Marauder had tackled Sif to the ground and the two had begun to wrestle. Both had lost their weapons when they had fallen. You ran towards Sif and the Marauder, but before you could reach them, the Marauder had grabbed Sif’s head and slammed it back towards the ground. You heard a loud ‘crack’ as her head made contact with ground, knocking her unconscious. 

You dropped your sword and dove towards the Marauder who was beginning to wrap his hands around her head in order to snap her neck. As you lunged forwards, you flicked out your hidden blades aiming for an opening in his armor as you tackled him, pushing him off of Sif. One blade had entered in his side, while the other scratched along his chest plate.

You straddled the Marauder who was now starting to fight back after realizing he had been attacked. You clung onto him and before he could push you off, you slid your hidden blade across his neck, killing him. He gurgled as the blood escaped his neck and his hands clawed at his neck, trying to make it stop. His blood poured all over your hands and the terrible smell came out once again. His struggles began to slow down, eventually becoming completely still.

Before you could gag from the smell again you noticed another Marauder running towards Sif. You stood up quickly, grabbed Sif’s fallen sword and attacked the charging creature. You continued to guard Sif’s unconscious form for the rest of the battle, defending her every time another Marauder had dared to go after her. 

Soon after, Thor knocked out the last Marauder who stupidly tried to attack him alone, finishing the battle. You scanned the field and saw dozens of dead bodies lying across the ground. Most were Marauders but there were quite a few of Vanir bodies as well. You were catching your breath when you scanned the area to make sure no one on your side had gotten injured. Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral were all standing close together, wiping blood off their weapons, their faces flushed and glistening with sweat. 

You found Thor walking over the bodies, looking over the damage that had been done. You spotted Loki by one of the huts, leaning against it while breathing hard. You breathed a sigh of relief. It looks like the only one who had been injured was Sif.

You looked down at Sif and looked over her body with your eyes, searching for any open wounds that she may have gotten.

“You did quite the number on those Marauders.” 

You looked up and saw Freyja approaching you. You looked around your area and counted a total of ten bodies you had taken down. Their blood was now mixing into one big puddle.

“I was protecting her,” you said back, nodding your head towards Sif. You couldn’t help but glare at the beautiful woman. You were angry at her for not assisting her own people. 

“And you were successful,” Freyja replied. She kneeled by Sif’s head and placed her hands gently on Sif’s temples. She closed her eyes in concentration. She reopened her eyes and looked up at you, giving you a small smile.

“She’s not dead. Simply knocked out. She’ll be okay,” Freyja told you.

“Good,” you said. The work you had done protecting her body had not been done in vain.

“Freyja! How joyous it is to see you!” you heard Thor’s voice boom. The two of you looked over and saw Thor walking towards you, a big grin taking over his face.

Freyja laughed. “Hello Thor! It’s been a while!” Freyja opened her arms and the two hugged each other. At that moment, Volstagg came over and gently picked Sif off the ground and held her in his arms. You handed Sif’s sword over to Hogun and walked over to where you had thrown your own. You slipped it back into its sheath smoothly.

“I trust that you will be able to handle everything from here?” Thor asked Freyja. 

Freyja scanned the field and look back at Thor. “Shouldn’t take me more than an hour,” she replied, smiling. 

You crinkled your brows in confusion. _Who is this woman?_ you wondered.

“You should come and visit us in Asgard, Freyja. I’m certain that my mother would love to see you again,” Thor spoke.

“I would love to. I’m certain that Gullveig would love to as well. It feels like I haven’t seen Frigga in ages,” Freyja replied. 

Thor nodded at the woman and smiled. “Then we shall be in contact soon.”

“I look forward to it,” Freyja said.

“Alright, Heimdall. We’re finished!” Thor yelled. 

You heard a large, crackling sound and were soon sucked up back into a portal brought down by Heimdall, returning you to the bifrost. You opened your eyes to find yourself back in the golden dome, with Heimdall looking down at the group.

“You were successful I see,” Heimdall spoke. His golden eyes then flickered over to Sif’s unconscious body in Volstagg’s arms. 

Thor turned to the group. “I’m going to see Odin to inform him what has happened. Volstagg, be sure to take Sif to the infirmary immediately,” he ordered. Thor then left towards the exit of the dome, back to where the horses had been tied. Everyone else followed suit. On the way back the palace, the entire group was silent, exhaustion overtaking everyone. 

As you returned your horse to the stable and exited, you looked down at your bloodied hands. You could still smell the odor that seemed to cling to you from the Marauders. 

“God, why do they smell so bad?” you asked more to yourself, wrinkling your nose as you brought your hands towards your face, assessing how bad the smell was. You hoped that Aidrith and Naelynn would be able to get the smell out. 

You heard Loki chuckle next to you and you looked over. “You shouldn’t have been so messy,” Loki said to you, smirking. 

You scanned Loki’s clothing, finding absolutely nothing on them. They were as clean as if they had just been washed. You looked back down to your own robes and found blood, dirt, and something yellow (you hoped that that wasn’t from that Marauder’s stomach) smeared all over your robes and boots.

You looked back over at Loki. “How did you manage to stay so clean?” you asked curiously as the two of you entered the palace. 

“I wasn’t overtaken with jealousy, so I was actually able to be careful,” Loki replied, giving you a smug look.

“What do you mean over-” you stopped. Your mind flash backed to how you felt when you had first encountered Freyja. “I was not jealous,” you firmly said to Loki.

Loki simply laughed and turned down a hall. “Keep telling yourself that,” he said back, disappearing around the corner.

You sighed. What comes around goes around, apparently. You made your way back to your room, which took probably twice the amount of time as it should have, seeing as you kept finding yourself lost. You finally made it back to your chambers and walked to your bathroom.

You tried to scrub the smell of the Marauder’s off of you as best you could. You kept rewashing your body and had scrubbed so hard, your skin was now red and raw. You exited the tub and put on a nightgown. You picked your robes and boots off of the floor and pinched them in an area they weren’t covered in some kind of fluid. You held them both at arm’s length as you made your way over to your servants’ room. You knocked on their door with your foot and waited for one of them to answer.

Naelynn opened the door and immediately plugged her nose when she saw you. 

“I’m sorry to be rude, miss. But your robes smell terrible,” Naelynn said.

“Please, you’re not being rude at all,” you replied. “I was actually wondering if you could wash these for me. I’m sorry that they’re so gross, but they can’t sit in my room,” you explained. 

Naelynn nodded her head. “I understand, miss. Just give me a moment, okay?” Naelynn made her way back into her room, returning a minute later. You noticed that she had put on a face mask that you had seen healers and nurses wear, as well as gloves. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“You ready?” you asked the servant, handing over your robes and boots. She took them and mimicked your stance by keeping them an arm’s length away. 

“These will be clean for you by tomorrow, miss,” Naelynn told you, her voice muffled by the mask.

“Take your time,” you said back. You didn’t care how long it took, just as long they were scrubbed clean. Naelynn walked down the hall and up a flight of stairs, while you returned to your room. Despite it being mid-afternoon you collapsed on your bed and curled into a ball. You wanted nothing more than take a nap after the battle you had just come from. Within minutes, you fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

_“Again!” the person in front of you yelled. Adrenaline coursed through your body and you were fueled with more energy. There was a faint light in your peripheral from the candles that lined the room you were in, along with a dim spotlight surrounding you. Everywhere else in the room was surrounded in complete darkness. Though he was right in front of you, you couldn’t see the man in front of you. He was nothing but a dark shadow._

_“Hngh,” you grunted as you punched the leather padding in front of you, putting whatever energy you had left in your throws._

_“I felt nothing! Again!”_

_You threw another two punches._

_“Again!”_

_You gave another two punches._

_“Again!”_

_“Aaaaahhhhh!” you yelled at the man, throwing everything you had left, hitting the two pads furiously. Sweat dripped down your neck and you could feel the skin on your knuckles begin to tear. The man holding the leather pads you were punching was beginning to retreat slowly the more you advanced at him._

_You gave one final punch before knocking the pad in his left hand down to the floor. You breathed heavily, trying your best to catch your breath._

_“Not good enough. You took fifty punches too many,” the shadow man in front of you said while picking up the pad. He slipped it back over his hand._

_“Again!”_

_You rolled out your neck and positioned your fists in front of your face. The white bandages that were wrapped around your hands were slowly becoming red from the fresh blood escaping your reopening wounds._

_You grunted as you began to punch the black pads in front of you once again._

_“Harder!”_

_You gritted your teeth and tried to ignore the stinging pain that would course up your arms every time you landed a hit._

_“I said harder!”_

_A growl came up from your chest and out your mouth. You wanted the shadow man to shut up. You were giving everything you had at him._

_You paused for a second._

_“Did I say stop? Start again!”_

_You glared at the shadow man as you repositioned your hands in front of your face. The bandages were starting to rip._

_“Ahhhh!” you yelled at the man again as you started back up. You were starting to become exhausted and you were finding it difficult to find the energy to continue._

_You gave the pads in front of you three more hard blows until it was knocked out of his hands again._

_You looked down at your hands and saw that the bandages had unraveled, revealing a missing laying of skin. Your hands were red, raw, and bleeding rather quickly. You looked back up and found that the shadow man was gone and you were now alone in a circle of light._

_“Hello?” you called out. You noticed that your voice was much higher pitched than usual. You looked over your body and found yourself much shorter than you remembered. You also realized that you no longer had any breasts and your hands were about half their size._

_You heard a little boy call your name and you looked up. A boy no older than ten approached you from the shadows and stepped into your spotlight. He was holding a white towel and had big grin on his face._

_You stared at the little boy’s face, taking in every feature._ I know this face, _you thought to yourself. He had big beautiful blue eyes and untidy, sandy blonde hair._

_You smiled. “You need to comb your hair,” you giggled at the boy._

_The little boy laughed back. “You know that it’s useless. It just becomes messy again.”_

_The boy’s smile slipped when he looked at your hands._

_“You shouldn’t let him work you that hard,” the boy told you as he stepped forward and wrapped the towel gently around your hands. The white fabric quickly became red._

_“I can handle it,” you said to the boy._

_“That’s what you always say, but you’re always hurt afterwards. Do you want me to talk to him? Because I ca-”._

_“No,” you interrupted. “This is the only way I get good.”_

_The boy smiled sadly up at you. “You’ll always be my best friend, right?”_

_You smiled back at the boy and said, “Always,” but something wasn’t right. No matter how much you tried to get the word out nothing happened. You were completely mute._

_The boy began to form tears in his eyes and he slowly let his hands slip from yours. ‘No!’ you tried to say, but nothing came out. ‘Don’t go! I’ll protect you! You’re my best friend!’ No matter how much you tried you couldn’t get the words out. You shouted as loud as you could and your throat was becoming hoarse, but nothing was being said._

_The little boy slipped back into the shadows._

~

You shot up quickly, gasping loudly as you regained consciousness. Your legs were tangled in your sheets and you noticed that there was a thin layer of sweat around your neck. You ran your hands through your hair as you controlled your breathing. You looked out of the window and saw that the sun was setting. You had only been asleep for a couple of hours.

You scanned your room, wondering if Naelynn had returned your robes. Nothing. You untangled yourself from your sheets and made your way to the bathroom.

You splashed cold water onto your face and dried yourself with a small hand towel. You looked down at your hands and stared at the faint pink scars that covered them, especially near your knuckles. You rubbed your hands together as you exited the bathroom and opened your closet.

You figured since your robes hadn’t been finished cleaning, you would have to pick something else out to wear. You picked the least threatening looking dress and replaced your nightgown with it. It was a light grey color that went mid-calf. The dress was simple, the sleeves reaching down to your wrists. You put on a pair of sandals and tied your hair up. 

You gave yourself one final look in the mirror. Your cheeks were flushed pink from your dream and you had faint dark circles underneath your eyes. You thought back to the beautiful woman from the battle earlier that day. Freyja, her name was. You couldn’t help at that moment but feel like you looked like nothing compared to her. You had never been one to care about your appearance, but after seeing someone as beautiful as Freyja, you started to become a little self-conscious. 

You thought back to her actions in Vanaheim that day. You were curious about her affiliation with Thor and his family, as well as well how she was able to determine Sif was alive. You remembered Loki mentioning how she would help out after the battle, as well as Thor asking her if she could handle the situation. You were now burning with curiosity so you decided to try and find answers. 

You figured that the best place to begin your search would be the library. If she has an affiliation with Asgard, as well as control of some kind of magic, she would surely have been mentioned in a book by now.

You left your room and made your way to the kitchen, this time finding your way without needing help. You grabbed two pieces of fruit while you were there and asked a servant for directions to the palace’s library. You gave your thanks to the servant and left to go find it. As you walked, you ate your fruit and admired the different paintings and statues that lined the halls on your way. 

When you finally entered the library you immediately felt overwhelmed. There were hundreds of shelves that must have gone twenty feet in the air. They were all completely filled with books of all sizes and colors, some obviously more worn than others. You had no idea where you were supposed to start.

You took a bite of your second fruit as you traveled through the bookshelves, searching for someone that would be able to help you. You eventually found a large, wooden desk located in the back of the library. An old man with crescent moon glasses sat behind it, writing in some kind of ledger.

You approached the man and cleared your throat. The old man didn’t look up. He just continued on writing in his book. You cleared your throat a second time. “Excuse me?” you politely said to the old man.

He still didn’t look up at you. He dipped his quill into ink and continued to write. You sighed loudly.  
“Excuse me,” you tried again, this time louder and more forceful.

“I was wondering if you would be able to help me find out some information.”

The old man still continued on with his work. Your temper flared within you. 

“I apologize if this sounds rude,” you said to the old man, trying to hide your annoyance in your voice. “But you’re being a bit of an ass right now.”

Still no response.

You sighed again. “What is it with you? What’s so important that you’re writing that you can’t help me?”

The old man paused and looked right up over your head in thought, completely ignoring your presence. He then looked back down and continued to write.

You curled your hand that wasn’t holding the fruit into a fist. “Is there a secret word I’m supposed to say? Some kind of password to get your service?” 

The old man sighed silently and placed his quill back into the ink. He gently blew onto the pages to make them dry faster and closed the ledger with a ‘thud’.

“Follow me,” he said, his voice sounding like sandpaper. He slowly got out of his chair and shuffled towards one of the many aisles of bookshelves. You crinkled your eyebrows, confused, but decided on following him anyways. You continued eating your fruit as you followed the old man. Slowly. So slow. _Ugh, a turtle goes faster than this man,_ you thought. You suppressed a sigh of annoyance at the old man.

You finished your fruit before you even made it halfway down the aisle. Eventually you stopped and the old man turned to one of the shelves. With a shaking hand he pulled out a book with purple binding and handed it to you. 

You looked at him in surprise and flipped through the book, its contents being exactly what you needed. _How did he know?_ you wondered. You looked back up and saw that the old man had begun shuffling back down the aisle.

“Please goes a long way, you know?” the old man said to you. You narrowed your eyes at his back. “Thanks,” you said to him.

He simply waved his hand at you, not saying a word.

 _Weird old man,_ you thought. You began to make your way through the aisles, trying to find one of the many seating options you had seen on your way in. During each of the breaks between aisles, you would look over to the side to see if there was any available seating. In one of the breaks, you saw a man sitting in one of the chairs. You immediately retreated backwards, towards the shelves behind you peeked around the corner. 

Is that...Loki? You watched the prince for a minute, observing him. He was sitting in one of the over-sized chairs, his feet propped up on the table in front of him. There was a fire roaring to the side of him and his right hand was propped up underneath his mouth, occasionally biting his thumb, as if in concentration. He was reading a fairly large book and he didn’t seem to ever take his eyes away from it. 

Even though he was far away, you quickly tip-toed across the opening, hoping he wouldn’t see you. You didn’t want his attention to go you and the book in your hand as it would only confirm what he accused earlier that day. You moved quickly away from his location in search for your own seating, hopefully in a place he wouldn’t find you. You felt so childish, hiding away from him, hoping he wouldn’t find you.

You soon found your own seating and plopped down into it. You cracked open the book, its spine breaking as if it had never been opened. The smell of printed paper soon wafted upwards and you couldn’t help bringing the book to your nose. You inhaled deeply, loving the scent that the book had. You couldn’t help but laugh at the image that came into your head. You imagined how someone would react if they had come up to you and saw you sniffing a book.

You flipped through the pages until you found some sort of index. You searched for Freyja’s name and the page number. She had a total of ten pages dedicated towards her. You turned to her section and read the summary that began her section. 

_Freyja is the Vanir Goddess of Sexuality, Beauty, Fertility, War, and Death. She is the daughter of Njörðr and the sister of Freyer. Many Midgardians believed that it was Freyja and her brother that bestowed them peace, as well as the pleasure of sex. The siblings were the ones who would bestow them the gift of conception and childbirth, as well as the final blow of death. Freyja rules over the field of Fólkvangr, an afterlife for those in Vanaheim, where she is responsible of bringing those fallen in battle over to that world. She is the only one able to communicate with those in the afterlife and holds the ability of traveling over to Fólkvangr while still alive._

You looked up from you book. _Holy shit,_ you thought to yourself. How many things did this woman need to be the goddess of? Apparently one wasn’t enough for her. You could certainly see the sexuality and beauty part, but war and death wasn’t something you were expecting. It now made a lot more sense why she was needed at the end of the battle. She was taking those who had died to this place called Fólkvangr. You wondered if she was responsible for the Marauders as well as her own people. 

You reread the summary. You couldn’t help but find it ironic how she and her brother were known for helping the Midgardians become pregnant, yet were also behind all the wars that occurred there as well, causing their deaths. You felt a little better knowing who this woman was now, but you still couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling you had with her and Loki.

_Why do I care so much? _you wondered. Because she’s the ‘Goddess of Sexuality’, an insecure part of you told you. You felt ridiculous. As if you were a jealous child. As much as you tried to deny it, you could help but worry that her and Loki…__

__You shook your head. _No, this doesn’t matter. Even if they do have that kind of past, I shouldn’t care. It’s none of my business. Loki and I aren’t even like that in the first place, so these thoughts are completely unnecessary.__ _

__You stood up and walked back to the old man’s desk, hoping to quickly return the book and leave before Loki realized you were in there as well. You couldn’t imagine running into him now. When you reached the area he was in, you held your breath and tiptoed once again._ _

__As you passed through the opening of shelves, you peeked over at Loki’s spot and found that he hadn’t even budged. Once you returned safely to the cover of the shelves, you exhaled your breath. You found the old man sitting behind his desk, writing in his ledger once again. You approached the desk and placed the book in front of him. “Thank you,” you said to him._ _

__He didn’t look up from his writing and simply reached out for the book and tugged it closer to him. You gave the old man a weird look before turning around and heading for the library’s exit._ _


	15. Chapter 15

You took a right out into the hallway when you passed through the library’s doors. You found yourself with nothing to do so you decided to wander around the palace and explore while you were waiting for Naelynn to finish cleaning your robes. You tried to memorize the floor plan as you walked, noting different landmarks to make walking through the palace easier in the future. Like you did earlier on the way to the library, you admired the different architecture, paintings, and sculptures that filled the halls. You thought that the amount of money spent on the palace could have been used for better things, but that didn't prevent you from still finding the art beautiful and impressive. 

You had been wandering aimlessly for about a half hour when a particular painting caught your attention from the corner of your eye. You turned and looked up. Bordered by an intricate gold frame, was a giant family portrait, painted in what you figured oils. A small smile slipped onto your face. 

Odin was in the center of the portrait, sitting in an expensive looking chair, wearing his golden eyepatch even then. To the right of him was Queen Frigga, a gentle smile resting on her lips. Her right hand rested on Odin’s shoulder while the other rested on the shoulder of a little boy. 

You subconsciously placed your right hand on your other arm’s forearm, slowly running your nails gently over the skin. 

You smiled as you recognized the little boy as Loki. Even then his black hair was swept backwards and he sported green attire. Loki’s lips contained a small smile, but something appeared to be off. His face expressed contentment but there was something else. Sadness? Disappointment? You couldn’t quite tell. You continued to scan the painting with your eyes and saw that to Loki’s left was Thor, his blonde hair significantly shorter but sporting same big grin that he has today. 

The speed of your light scratching increased and became harder.

You couldn’t help but continue to stare at the family portrait, especially at Loki. There was just something off with this family dynamic. You had no idea why, but you couldn’t help but almost feel sad for Loki. Frigga had her hand on Loki’s shoulder as if she was comforting him. But what could she be comforting him from?

“Excuse me, miss?” you heard a soft voice whisper to your right. You gasped and jumped, completely caught off guard. You wondered how you could have let someone sneak up on you. You looked over and saw that the person that had approached you was a servant who had to have been in her seventies. Her grey hair was messily swept up in a bun on the top of her head, a few stray strands popping out. She had a kind, but concerned expression on her face.

“I’m terribly sorry for frightening you, miss. But I just wanted to make sure that you were feeling alright,” the servant said to you. She then looked down at the forearm that you had been scratching. You followed her gaze and saw that your forearm had turned bright pink. Some of the scratch lines even had tiny beads of blood slowly appearing. You hadn’t even realized you were scratching your arm, never mind this hard. You stood in slight shock.

“You shouldn’t scratch so hard, miss. You’ll injure yourself,” the old servant softly spoke. You looked back up, your eyes slightly watering. Your breathing hitched. The servant’s expression changed into one of alarm.

“Miss? Do you wish for me to take you to the infirmary?”

_“You shouldn’t scratch your arms like that. You’ll hit bone soon,” you heard someone joke next to you. An older version of the boy from your dreams earlier that day came up to you. He was now a young teenager, wearing a similar version of your robes. You were sitting on a mat, legs crossed together. Sunlight was coming through the large, glass sliding doors that sat on the wall across from you._

_The blonde boy sat next to you and took a swig out of a tin canteen._

_You switched your scratching to a light rubbing and laughed. “I can’t help it. The damn hidden blades make my arms itchy. It can get sweaty in there.”_

_He laughed back and handed the canteen over to you. You tilted your head back and gulped the rest of the water down. You wiped your mouth and handed the flask back over to the blonde haired boy._

_He looked down into the canteen, a frown forming on his face. “Thanks for saving me some,” he mumbled, chucking the canteen next to him._

_You laughed. “Then don’t offer any to me. You should know better by now.” You took back to scratching your itchy forearms._

_The blonde hair boy looked over at you. “I guess I really should, huh? You have a biggest appetite of anyone I’ve ever met. I bet you could eat more than Eithgith,” he joked, giving you an amused expression._

_You raised a brow at him. “Should I be taking that as a compliment?” You quickened the pace of your scratching._

_“Stop that,” the blonde said forcefully while grabbing your itchy forearm. His cool hands provided slight relief to the itching, but there was something else you felt. You froze and looked back at the blonde boy. His cheeks started to become speckled in pink._

“She’s starting to wake now,” you heard a female voice say. 

_No. I don’t want to go. I want to stay here. I can’t leave him. I can’t leave him. I…can’t…leave…_

You opened your eyes and found yourself lying on top of a cool, smooth stone. You wrinkled your brows in confusion and groaned. There was a dim light provided by the lanterns hanging around the room.

“Good morning,” you heard a familiar voice say. You groaned again and looked over to your right. Loki was sitting in a wooden chair, leaning back on its hind legs. 

“Why are you here?” you asked, your voice scratchy. You tried to sit up but your head spun. Thin, gentle hands gently pushed you back down. 

“Try to take it slow, okay?” your heard the female voice again. You looked over and saw a young woman with red hair swept up in a complicated braid. She turned to some paper on the table next to you and continued to write on it. 

You relaxed your head and took to staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore Loki’s gaze. “What happened to me?” you asked.

“You seemed to have passed out,” the redhead answered while continuing to write. “We found scratches on your arm but a servant told us that you had done that to yourself.” The nurse turned to you and smiled. “You’ll be completely fine. You’ll be able to leave shortly, I just need to ask you a few questions first,” the redhead said. You nodded your head. 

“We can’t seem to find any signs of a rash on your arm. Is there a particular reason why you were scratching? You seemed to have broken skin in a few places.”

You lifted your arm up to your eyes and found that all traces of your scratching had disappeared. There were a few tiny red spots, but nothing else. You sighed. 

“My hidden blades make my arms itchy,” you answered. You couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

The nurse nodded her head and wrote your answer on the sheet of paper. 

“Is this something that is new or has always occurred?”

“It’s always been like this. It’s normal,” you answered quietly. 

She nodded her head and continued to write. 

“Do you know what could have caused you to blackout?”

Tears started to form in your eyes again. You shook your head. “No,” you replied.

The nurse stared at you, not buying your answer.

“Are you sure?” she pressed.

You nodded your head. 

She sighed and finished writing on the paper. She gently blew on it before rolling it up into a scroll. You tried sitting up again, this time successful. You swung your legs over the stone and the nurse handed you the scroll.

“Present this to the woman at the desk by the doors. If you start to feel dizzy or ill again, don’t hesitate to come to us,” the redhead said. She looked over at Loki behind you.

“Will you be able escort her to her chambers, Prince Loki?” she asked.

Loki sighed dramatically. “If I must.” The nurse nodded her head and exited the room you were in. You stood slowly, testing your balance. Once you felt stable, you walked towards the door, completely ignoring Loki as you exited the room as well. You heard the chair’s legs slam as Loki got up, following you.

You made your way down the hallway, your eyes skimming across the doors as you passed them. You realized that there were different pieces of paper tacked onto them providing you the names of the patients that resided in them. You saw Sif’s name as you passed one of the doors and you wondered if she had awoken yet. 

When you reached the end, you approached the woman sitting behind a large, wooden desk. You handed her the scroll and she gave you big smile. “I hope you feel better!” she said cheerily. You mumbled a thanks and exited the infirmary. You continued to ignore Loki as you walked back towards your room. A sudden wave of depression and exhaustion rolled over you. You wanted nothing more than to be alone. You picked up your pace, in hope of losing Loki. 

However Loki caught up to you within seconds and easily kept up with your pace. You looked up in annoyance and saw that he was looking at you curiously. “So will you tell _me_ why you decided to pass out in the middle of the hall?”

You sighed, continuing to ignore him. 

“Is blacking out common for you? Is this something I need to be aware of? I can’t have someone who passes out frequently working with me,” Loki said. You felt too exhausted to rebuttal him. You felt another wave of sadness wash over you and you had to hold back tears. The last thing you needed to do was cry in front of Loki.

“Let’s see. Something had to have triggered it. The scratching? Maybe,” Loki thought out loud. He continued his audible thinking process, to which you tuned out as you walked back towards your room. A sudden thought came to your mind.

“Why were you there in the infirmary?” you asked, interrupting him. 

“I brought you there,” he answered simply.

“How?” you asked, looking over at him confused. He sighed.

“Are you really so daft? I carried you,” he answered. He then eyed you. “You’re a lot heavier than you look.”

You shook your head, ignoring his rude comment. Something wasn’t adding up. “How could have even been there to bring me to the infirmary? You were in the -” you stopped short, your eyes widening. You realized that you had said too much. 

A smirk began to slowly form on Loki’s face. “Where was I?” he asked with amusement in his tone. You shook your head again and continued to walk forwards. Loki followed silently behind you and you didn’t dare turn around to see what expression he carried. 

As you were walking back to your chambers, you turned a corner and ran face first into a massive figure. Large hands steadied you and you immediately took a few steps back at the touch. _What is it with me lately? Why am I so unaware?_ you wondered.

You realized that the figure that you had slammed into was Thor. Your cheeks flushed with embarrassment. 

“Are you alright, m’lady?” Thor asked you. You realized that was the first time he had used that term towards you.

“Yeah. I’m okay,” you tried to assure him, but your voice cracked on ‘okay.’ Thor studied your features and then looked over at Loki. He brought his gaze back towards you.

“Has something occurred?” Thor asked, concern slipping through his tone.

“She had a bit of...a spell,” Loki answered for you. You noticed that there was slight amusement in his words. You knew that his tone would have normally angered you, but you were too exhausted to feel anything.

“I’m fine,” you tried assuring Thor again. “I just need some rest.” 

Thor nodded his head at you. He then said something but you couldn’t hear it. His words were muffled as if he were underwater. You squinted your eyes at him, trying to decipher what he was saying. A buzzing sound then starting ringing in your ears. You started to shake your head, trying to get rid of the sound. 

You asked for Thor to repeat himself, but you weren’t sure if you had even said the words. The buzzing started to become louder as another wave of sadness crashed over you. You noticed Loki’s face appear in your peripheral as Thor’s features changed into an expression of concern.

“I’m fine…I’m fine…I’m…fine…” you tried saying. You had no idea if the words were coming out. _Be strong. Come on, be strong._

Suddenly, an image of you and the blonde boy kneeling in front of the shadow man flashed into your mind. You tried shaking your head again, but the buzzing continued. A second imaged flashed in your mind, this time the shadow man was handing you each a scroll of paper. 

The buzzing continued to get louder and louder. You looked up at Thor and Loki’s face, both of whom were trying to get your attention, but their faces started to become blurry.

The last thing you noticed was Loki’s green eyes before everything went black.


	16. Chapter 16

You heard a gentle humming noise as you started to come to. Your body immediately stiffened and your heart rate increased. _Where am I? I need to get out of here now_ , you instinctively thought. _I’m in danger._ Your body instantly went into survival mode and your senses were heightened. You could feel cool stone underneath you and a slight pressure all over your body. 

You slowly relaxed all your muscles and kept your eyes closed. You wanted to make it seem like you were still asleep in case there was anyone else in the room. Your strained your ears to see if you could hear any signs of another person in the room. Nothing. You concentrated as you brought your sixth sense back out. You lifted your eyelids slightly. The room had turned into a grey blur, but there wasn’t any hint of a living person in the room. You closed your eyes and tuned back into your normal senses.

There wasn’t any one in the room with you, so you figured that you had an opportunity to try to leave. You opened your eyes all the way and found an orange force field surrounding you. _What the hell?_ You realized that this was the source of the humming noise. You tried moving your arms, but nothing happened. You tried again, this time with more force. Nothing.

You started to panic. _No! I need to get out of here!_ You tried pushing your entire body against the force field, but neither you nor the field budged. You started to feel claustrophobic, your breathing beginning to hitch. You tried pushing harder and harder against the force field, but nothing was happening. In fact, you felt as if you were being pressed down harder the more you tried to struggle. 

You heard a door click open and you tried to turn your head to see who had entered, forgetting that you couldn’t move. You heard soft footsteps walk towards you and you immediately felt hatred towards whoever was coming.

The mystery person walked up to the stone you were laying on. Your eyes flickered over and you were surprised to see Queen Frigga’s face. Suddenly, the previous day’s events flooded back in. You tried to remember what happened before blacking out. You remembered feeling dizzy. You remembered the memories flashing in your mind. You remembered seeing…green eyes? 

Frigga gave you soft smile as she waved her hand over the orange force field, making it slowly disappear. You felt the pressure on your body release gradually.

“How are you feeling?” Frigga asked you gently. 

_How am I feeling?_ You were feeling so many things at once. You felt tired, as if you hadn’t had sleep for years. You felt embarrassed for passing out in front of Thor and Loki. You felt frustrated that you hadn’t been stronger. You felt incredibly saddened and empty, as if a part of you had been ripped away from you.

“Fine,” was all you answered.

Frigga sighed quietly and placed the palm of her hand on top of your forehead. You found yourself surprised when you didn’t flinch at her touch. Her hand became ice cold and you felt as if cool water was running throughout your head, making you feel immediately better. Instead of so many emotions running through you, you just felt numb.

“Do you know what happened to you?” Frigga asked.

“Passed out?” 

She gave you gentle smile. “Not quite.”

Frigga put one of her hands underneath your shoulder and the other behind your head. She gently guided you up to a sitting situation. You found your muscles incredibly sore and you wanted nothing more than to crack your spine to release the tension that had formed there. You rolled out your neck, trying to relieve some of the stiffness.

“Did you know that your mind will begin to rebel against you if you refuse to acknowledge something?” Frigga said to you.

You shook your head.

Frigga started to pace around the room, her hands laced together. “The brain is one of the most complicated aspects about us. Once we think we know how it works, something comes up that changes everything. As frustrating as it can be, it can reveal very interesting things about us.” Frigga stopped her pacing and looked over at you.

“You are a very strong and intelligent warrior. A highly trained assassin, so I’ve heard. But no matter how much physical strength you have, it will never compare to the strength that the mind has. You would be surprised at the lengths your brain will go to make you feel a certain way. You are refusing to acknowledge something that has happened, aren’t you? Something you find very painful.”

You dipped your eyes to the floor. You didn’t want to hear this. You knew what she was about to say.

“Do not feel sorrow for yourself, young one,” Frigga said, sitting down next to you. “I can sense that you are denying a past event. I can sense that you are trying to get rid of memories that are dear to you. But you cannot go against your mind. It will eat away at you, forcing you to remember what has happened. Your brain is trying to force you to accept something and you’re not allowing it to. You are in so much pain and yet you deny that you are.”

“I don’t get why it caused me blackout. It never has before,” you said in a whisper.

“Think of it like this. Your refusal of acceptance was becoming frustrating for your subconscious. So in response, your brain started to shut down on you, forcing you to think back to the past,” Frigga explained. “Tell me, did you see past memories before blacking out?”

You kept silent, but nodded your head. Frigga wrapped an arm around you.

“The sign of a truly strong warrior is one that can accept their past and use it to better themselves not allow it to eat away at them. It takes strength to face what has happened. But you cannot become better until that happens. It won’t happen in an instant. It happens over time, everyday a little bit better than the last. I’m sure that you’ve heard that time is the master of all healers.” Frigga paused for a short moment.

“I’ve tried to sooth your mind as best I could. I’ve calmed down your subconscious, sedating it if you will. But it won’t last forever. These memories will be forced back on you and you will be brought down again. I’m curious. Have you ever told anyone else about your past?”

You again kept silent, but shook your head.

“The refusal of letting someone else in does more harm than good. You may think that you are protecting yourself, but in actuality, you are hurting yourself. Love is a powerful tool that can build someone back up or completely destroy them. It’s a risk that every single person takes when they open themselves to another,” Frigga said smoothly, as if this wasn’t the first time she’s told someone this. 

“His name was Jakob,” you admitted quietly. Your eyes began to water. 

“Who was he to you?” Frigga asked gently.

_Who was he to me? A best friend? A protector? Everything?_

“A person wrongfully taken away from me,” you answered.

Frigga sighed. “We have no control of what happens to us, but we do control how we feel and react to a situation.”

“I feel anger and sadness,” you said. 

“Do you think that one day you could feel acceptance and forgiveness?”

You ducked your head. “I…I don’t know.”

Frigga pulled you into her chest and hugged you tightly. “I’m not asking you to feel that way right at this moment. But I think that overtime, you will learn to feel that way. However, I _am_ asking you to try and open up more. You will soon find that the comfort and acceptance of another will aid you in your healing.”

At that moment you started to cry and you couldn’t stop it. You just let everything out at once. Your crying quickly turned into sobs and your chest began to heave. Frigga hugged you closer and tried to soothe you, gently rubbing your back. She didn’t laugh at you or push you away. She was comforting you, allowing you to let it all out. You realized that you’ve always been craving a mother’s touch, something you’ve never experienced before. You gripped onto Frigga, not wanting to let her go.

You felt as if you were a young child again. You never cried like this. You were trained to be tough and strong. You weren’t supposed to show your emotions. ‘Sadness is for the weak’, you were taught. As a result, you had kept everything bottled inside, making yourself a ticking time bomb. Ever since that one night, you promised yourself that it wouldn’t come out again. That you would make a completely new life in a new place. You had hoped that by pretending it never happened, it would go away. A part of you knew that it wouldn’t work, but you still tried anyways. And now here you were, wrapped in the queen’s embrace, cocooned in a mother’s love, letting everything out at once. 

Your sobs soon turned into light hiccups and you slowly began to pull away from Frigga. You wiped away your tears with the back of your hand. You looked over at the queen and saw one of the most loving, kind faces looking back at you. You immediately felt sad. Was is because you’ve never had a mother who looked at you that way before?

“Thank you,” you whispered, scared to use your voice.

Frigga gave you another hug. “I hope that one day you’ll find yourself able to accept what has happened and find it something that makes you stronger, not weaker.”

Frigga stood up and left the room, leaving you alone.

You sat there in complete silence, thinking over everything Frigga had told you. You weren’t ready to revisit that night. Hell, you were scared that once you willingly went back into those memories, you wouldn’t be able to get out. _One day I’ll visit those memories, but only when I’m ready,_ you thought confidently.

You slid off the slab of stone and exited through the same door Frigga went through. You found that you had been brought back into the infirmary. You silently walked back to your room, ignoring the comments of passing nurses and the woman at the front desk. You kept your eyes straight forward, not daring to make eye contact with any servants you passed by on your way back. When you reached your room, you didn’t even bother changing out of your clothes. You slipped off your sandals and collapsed right on top of the bed in your dress.

You looked over to your right and saw that your robes had been returned, now hanging off a chair. You slipped your eyes close, feeling completely drained. 

~ 

You woke up midday with your stomach growling ferociously and your hair matted to your face. You rolled onto your back and pried your eyes open. You found them dry and irritated. You sighed and stared at your ceiling for a few minutes before sliding off your bed and going to the bathroom. You cleaned yourself up, putting on your freshly washed robes and weapons. Before you left the room, you looked at yourself in the mirror. 

Besides your eyes being slightly puffy, you looked more like yourself. You certainly felt like your old self again. The past day had been so emotionally draining on you, but you felt significantly better. You exited your room and headed to the kitchens. You noticed that you arrived at a busy time with everyone preparing lunch. You gently pushed people aside as you made your way to the wooden table by the fireplace. Unsurprisingly, you saw Volstagg sitting there, pulling off the skin of a leg with his teeth.

You casually picked up a plate from a giant stack you passed and sat across from Volstagg. You filled your plate with different fruit, cheeses, and meat. You then filled a small goblet with wine from a nearby pitcher. Volstagg sat there silently, observing your every movement.

He swallowed his mouthful of food. “You seem to have quite the appetite, m’lady,” Volstagg commented.

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve eaten,” you said before taking a huge bite of your food. You and Volstagg continued to eat in peaceful silence until he cleared his throat.

“I heard that you fell a little ill yesterday, m’lady. Are you feeling better?”

“I’m completely fine. I just needed a moment to myself that’s all.” You gave him a small smile. “I’m still going to work with you if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Volstagg grinned. “I’m glad to hear it!” His face turned a little more serious. “I wanted to thank you.”

You were bringing the fork to your mouth when you paused. “For what?”

“For protecting Sif at Vanaheim. Who knows what could have happened to her if you didn’t see her being attacked. We were all so busy protecting our own backs that we failed to notice what had happened. We feel terrible to think we would have let one of our own fall.”

You put your fork down. “Don’t blame yourselves. Nothing bad happened and that’s all that matters. And you would have absolutely saved her if I wasn’t there. It was because I was there, that you were able to focus on something else,” you said, trying to comfort him. You had no idea if what you said made sense, but you were trying.

Volstagg nodded his head. “I suppose your right. I know Thor is very thankful for your actions.”

You raised your brows. “Thor?”

“Of course, m’lady. You really enforced your trust with us, by saving Sif the way you did. You could have easily let her fall, but you didn’t. We’re all grateful, especially Sif.”

“Sif? Has she awoken?”

“She did late last night. I have just come back from visiting her. She asked what happened and we explained. She’s of course angry at herself for having let the Marauder attack her in the first place, but she’s grateful that you attacked him for her.”

“It’s not a big deal,” you mumbled, picking up your fork and continuing to eat. 

“Oh, but it is. Trust can be a difficult thing to build, but I’m glad relations between you and us have been going well.”

You stared at your plate, feeling a little guilty as you thought back to Loki and what he had told you. ‘Pretend to be on their side,’ he said. Show them that you can reliable and trustworthy. 

You didn’t know what Loki was planning but you had a feeling it would involve betraying them. You knew that before, you wouldn’t have thought twice going against Thor and his friends. But now with all of them being so open to you, you were finding the thought a little more difficult.

“Me too,” you replied, having no idea if your reply had truth to it or not. The two of you finished your eating in silence.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New record for longest chapter!! I'm really happy with the way this came out! I hope you enjoy! :D

You and Volstagg finished your meal at the same time and he offered to walk you out of the kitchens once a servant picked up your plates. When you exited out into the halls, Volstagg excused himself and left to go find Hogun to discuss Sif’s condition. You stood there awkwardly as you watched Volstagg walk down the hall. You sighed. Once again, you were left with nothing to do. For a second, you wished for someone to come along and give you an order.

You turned around and immediately regretted your wish. Loki was walking towards you, a big grin overtaking his face.

“Ah, there you are! I was just about to send for you. Follow me,” he said casually as he passed you, not bothering to slow down. He didn’t turn around to see if you were following him, clearly confident that you would. You debated for a second not obeying but you knew you couldn’t. You sighed again and started to follow him. While you walked behind him, you hoped that he wouldn’t mention the events of the previous day. Thankfully, he never brought it up.

“Why are you everywhere I am?” you asked with irritation.

Loki glanced over his shoulder at you, raising a brow. You stared back confidently, giving him a questioning look, but he simply turned back around. 

“I’m meeting up with an informant in Asgard today and I need for you to come with me,” Loki said, his voice slightly muffled from being in front of you.

You crinkled your brows, wondering where he was planning on meeting with this informant. You jogged to catch up with Loki’s speed and even once you were walking next to him, you found yourself struggling to keep up. Every step from his long legs was three from your own. 

“What exactly is the information we’re getting?”

“For me to know and you to find out later. You’re there to make sure no one interrupts us,” Loki replied, his expression serious.

“And where are we meeting this informant?”

“A tavern in the middle of Asgard.”

Your heart leapt. _Could it be?_ “Is it owned by a man by the name of Geif?” you asked.

“I believe so. Why?” Loki looked down at you.

You suppressed a smile. “I know him. It’s where I used to get my information. A lot of good people there,” you said. You were excited that you were returning there. You hadn’t realized you missed that place until now.

“Even better. You can provide a distraction in case anyone becomes a little too curious. They all know you there?” Loki asked.

“Most are familiar with me, yes,” you answered.

Loki nodded his head, approving. You and Loki exited the palace and quickly traveled down the steps that led into the main streets of Asgard. You were slightly surprised that Loki decided to take the busier main roads that lead to your destination. You were certain that it would take double the amount of time to get to the tavern by taking such crowded streets. But you found yourself incorrect when you saw how the crowd would part once they saw Prince Loki approaching, giving you room. 

Occasionally people would bow to Loki and even try to give him different offerings of food and gifts as he passed. He rejected every single offer, never even paying attention to the person trying to give him the gift. _It must be nice to be royalty,_ you thought. You would kill for people to just come up to you and give you free food.

Loki turned onto one of the main streets you tended to avoid, simply because there was always such heavy traffic in such a narrow pathway. You preferred to either stay on the side streets or take to the rooftops. But because of Loki’s status, most the people just parted, giving the two of you ease of access through the crowded street. 

The road that you were walking down was one of the busiest in all of Asgard. It was a popular bazaar-like market with different colored stands lining either side. There were hundreds of people trying to squeeze by one another trying to barter and trade. Though it was packed, it made blending in quiet easy. 

Your ears were presented with a constant loud hum from people’s conversations. An occasional vender would shout over the crowd trying to get people’s attentions, along with the sounds of adults laughing and children crying. With each stand you passed, a new smell would emerge that overtook your senses, everything from raw fish to some kind of beef cooking over a fire. You could also smell different types of wood from the furnaces behind the stands, as well as freshly dyed fabrics that many vendors shoved in front of you encouraging you to buy. You made sure to stay close by Loki’s side in order to prevent from being separated in such a large crowd.

You and Loki passed by a stand filled with baked goods when an older woman came up to Loki holding a tray filled with pastries covered in chocolate.

“Please, Prince Loki, it would an honor if you tried these from my bakery!” she said, her expression eager. Loki didn’t even look over at her. He just raised his hand, rejecting the offer. Her face fell and you took this as an opportunity. 

As you passed her, you reached over and took one of the pastries off the tray. You gave her a cheeky grin and raised the pastry as a thanks. Her face conveyed slight shock that quickly turned into one of anger. The woman then started yelling at you, demanding for payment. You ignored her shouting as you walked away and took a bite of your free food. You immediately felt ill. You spit the pastry out on the ground and put the unfinished dessert on a random stand you passed by. Loki chuckled at you.

You glared at him. “I didn’t think something with chocolate could possibly taste bad,” you said.

“Don’t think with your stomach next time,” Loki replied, giving you a blithe expression. 

You and Loki continued down the street, gently pushing people aside as you tried to make through the dense crowd. You were almost at the end of the bazaar when you noticed that you would soon have to squeeze by a huge, hairy man coming in the opposite direction. You tried to give him as much room as possible, but it was made difficult by the number of people around you. 

You grunted as you collided into him. The man suddenly grabbed you by the shoulder and pushed you hard to the side, slamming you against Loki. “Watch where you’re going, bitch,” the man spat at you.

Loki grabbed you before you could fall and helped steady you. Anger sparked within you and you took a step forward to knock out the man who dared push you the way he did. But before you could land a hit, Loki grabbed your waist and pulled you to the other side of him. The man who had pushed you instantly looked terrified. 

“Keep your hands to yourself,” Loki threatened the man.

“I-I’m sorry, Prince Loki. I didn’t realize she was with you,” the man stammered. He put his hands up to show that he meant no harm.

Loki ignored his apology and turned away from him, keeping his arm around your waist as he tugged you away. The rest of the crowd didn’t seem to have noticed the altercation that had occurred as they just continued on with their bartering and conversations.

“You should have let me hit him,” you said angrily. “He doesn’t deserve to get away with treating people like that.”

Loki removed his arm from your waist, retuning it back to his side. “Wasn’t it you who told me not to react physically just because you found something irritating?” Loki questioned, raising a brow out you, his expression conveying that he was clearly correct.

You huffed out a breath. “This was different. He made it necessary when he put his hands on me.”

“Mhm,” was all Loki said, looking back forward.

You finally exited the busy street and all that was left was side roads to the tavern. Even though there weren’t as many people in the side streets, the two of you still walked close together, your arms occasionally brushing against each other. Your excuse was that so you wouldn’t bump into another person, but you knew that it was a lie. What surprised you though was how Loki didn’t bother moving away as well.

You finally reached the tavern and you could smell a familiar aroma waft out. You inhaled deeply, loving the scent of wood and rum that seem to have stained the area. Before you entered you turned to Loki.

“Who are we looking out for?” you asked.

“A man by the name of Eirith. He’ll approach me,” Loki answered.

Loki opened the door of tavern and held it open for you. You nodded your head at him as a thanks and entered the building. As soon as you passed through the doorway, the loud conversations from the streets quickly evolved into a dull hum from those in the tavern. Surprisingly, the bar was exceptionally full despite it being midday. The door closed behind you and your eyes had to adjust from the bright light of outside to the dim lighting of the torches that hung around the bar.

You looked over and saw Geif pouring a glass to one of his customers sitting at the bar. You smiled. You realized that you missed talking to Geif. You were thinking about going over and chatting with him when you heard someone slur-shout your name over the hum of conversations. You looked over.

You saw bushy-haired man come stumbling towards you, a mug tightly gripped in his right hand. You internally groaned. _Not now,_ you thought. The man slurred your name again as he approached you and Loki, swaying a little too hard while walking causing his rum to spill over the edge of the mug and onto the floor.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you, my darlin’!”

_Dammit, what’s his name again? Til? No. Tip? No._

He put a hand on your shoulder that you presumed was more for balance rather than an advance towards you. Your pursuer began slurring inaudible words while staring down at your breasts. You lightly patted him on his shoulder, letting him have his moment. You knew that the man was harmless. _Tir,_ the name suddenly popped in your head. _That’s right, Tir._

Tir slowly lifted his head up and rolled his eyes over at Loki. “Who the fuck are you?” Tir slurred.

Loki suppressed a smile as he said, “I should be the one asking you that.” Loki looked over at you with a questioning glance. Before you could explain, Tir suddenly put a lot more of his weight onto you, nestling his head into your shoulder. You had to wrap your arms around him to keep him standing. He smelled of alcohol and sweat. Tir sighed.

“I’ve missed you so much, m’lady. It just isn’t the same without you. I told ‘em…I told ‘em all that you would – hic – come back. I says…I says to ‘em that m’lady can handle ‘erself! And here you are! Ah ha! You knocked that Thor right on his arse, right m’lady?” You simply patted Tir on the back as he continued on with his ramblings. You started to get a little nervous that Loki would become angry with Tir for interrupting like this. Tir suddenly stiffened. 

He stood up straight, releasing his weight from you and began to repeatedly look between you and Loki. He pointed his finger back and forth as if he were trying to figure something out.

“You two aren’t – hic – ? No,” Tir slurred. He took two shaky steps towards Loki and poked him in the chest. 

“You listen ‘ere! You better stay – hic – away from my girl, you got it?” Tir threatened.

You were slightly worried that Tir’s behavior would set off Loki’s temper, but he took it surprisingly well. Loki simply gave Tir a playful smile in return.

“You need not worry,” Loki said. He glanced over at you, giving you a cheeky look. “She’s all yours.”

“You’re damn right,” Tir mumbled.

You gently removed Tir’s finger away from Loki. “Alright, Tir. We have things we need to do. I’m happy to see you, but we need to go,” you said gently.

Tir stared at you as if you had just confessed your love for him. “M’lady is happy to – hic – see me?” Tir looked over at Loki, smug. “You see? This is ‘ow you get a woman. You’ve got nothin’ on me. She clearly only wants me,” Tir said, grinning.

“Clearly,” Loki replied, trying to keep a smile down. You sighed and turned to Loki. “I’ll go find Tir a seat. Anywhere that I go, he’ll just follow. Just find me when you’re done,” you said. You put your arm underneath Tir’s, guiding him away from Loki. Tir gave a victory laugh while giving Loki an expression that read, ‘aren’t you jealous?’ You groaned and mentally tried to tell him to stop.

As you dragged Tir to an open seat you watched Loki from the corner of your eye talk to Geif before walking across the tavern towards an empty table hidden in the shadows.

You pulled an empty chair from a nearby table and placed it next to Tir’s, sitting down. Tir offered his drink to you, to which you refused. “I’m not here for that today,” you explained at his hurt expression.

“Then why are you here, m’lady?” Tir grinned. “To see me, right?”

“I’m here on business, Tir,” you said. You kept your eyes trained on Loki as he took a seat. 

“Business smisness. Why don’t you just admit your love for me already, m’lady?” Tir slurred.

You gave your drunken pursuer a stern expression. “I’m being serious.”

“So am I! It’s because of that man you were with, isn’t it?” Tir puffed out his chest. “I can do more for m’lady than that guy ever could. I’m a provider! I’m a warrior! You could…you…could…” Tir’s eyes began to droop and his mug slipped out of his hand. You swiftly caught the glass before it could smash on the ground. When you put the mug onto the table you saw that Tir had passed out, his head laying on top of his arms. 

You leaned back in your chair and put your feet on the table. “That’s right. Go to sleep,” you said. You flipped your hood over your head and crossed your arms, keeping your eyes on the area around Loki. 

You saw a man enter through a door that led to the back exit of the tavern. He had long, straggly grey hair that was sloppily tied back with a string. He wore a dour expression as he approached Loki and sat across from him. He pulled out a piece of paper and pushed it over to Loki’s side. You reckoned that this was the Eirith man Loki was meeting with. 

You watched Loki and Eirith carefully trying to decipher what they were saying, but due to the distance and the hum of conversations of the tavern, you weren’t successful. You made sure to watch the people sitting around them, looking for anyone who might be trying to eavesdrop on them. You weren’t exactly sure what Loki was expecting you to do if you thought someone to be listening in on them, so thankfully no one stood out. Everyone around them was drinking and cheering with the occasional roar of laughter. They were all wrapped up in their own conversations. 

After you scanned the room for the fifth time, your eyes began to glance more and more at Loki. For whatever reason, you couldn’t help but stare at his features. Your eyes brushed over his cheekbones and across his jaw. You stared at his lips, admiring the way they formed words every time he spoke. Once you realized what you were doing, you mentally shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts. _I’m just trying to figure out what he’s saying,_ you lied to yourself. You then thought back to other night when you had been so close to kissing those lips. You hadn’t been entirely genuine in your advances that night, just trying to get information out of him. But now, the more you stared at this man, the more a hunger within you began to grow.

 _He really is attractive,_ you suddenly thought. A blush formed on your cheeks. _No. Stop it. Don’t think like that._ Despite your denial you couldn’t help but continue to stare at him from underneath your hood. You watched the different expressions that flickered over his features that ranged from seriousness to anger to interest. You noticed how he always seemed to have this intensity within his eyes, which made you think he knew everything the other person was thinking. It was cases like this you were thankful for hood. If Loki were to suddenly look over at you, he would never know that you were staring at him. 

After about ten minutes of listening to Tir’s snoring and watching the two men, they finally stood, shaking hands. Loki folded and tucked the piece of paper into a hidden pocket by his chest.

Loki quickly spotted you and made his way towards you, weaving in between the full tables with Eirith following closely behind. You suddenly became wary. You weren’t told that you were going to have to meet this man. You didn’t know who ‘Eirith’ was and whether or not he was to be trusted. You stayed leaning in your chair with your arms crossed, keeping your eyes trained on Eirith.

Loki stepped up next to you, his hand ghosting behind your chair. “Eirith, this was the woman was talking about,” Loki said, introducing you. 

Eirith’s face was lined with deep wrinkles, his skin so white that it was almost transparent. He had large bags underneath his brown eyes as if he hadn’t had a night’s rest in twenty years. He scrutinized you from head to toe as he walked up. 

“Pleasure,” Eirith said. You noticed that his voice sounded as if he was gargling small stones. Eirith reached his hand out to shake yours. You eyed his hand warily. You slammed the front legs of your chair down and leaned over to shake his hand. You gripped his hand tightly and you were worried for a split second that you could break bone. His hand felt so fragile in your grip. If you had hurt him at all, he didn’t show it.

He eyed your hood. “Loki told me that you like to keep your identity a secret. I can respect that, as long as you don’t betray our motives.”

You gave Loki a questioning look from underneath your hood. You wondered what else Loki had told this man, as well as what he could possibly be getting himself into.

“I look forward to working with you the future. I’m interested to see what you’re capable of,” Eirith said. He looked down at Tir with a disgusted look on his face. “I’ll leave you be with your…company.” He nodded once at you and Loki before making his way towards the bar. He dropped a few coins by Geif before exiting the tavern. Geif brushed the coins into a hidden drawer. 

Loki sighed and sat in a chair next to yours.

“What exactly will I be doing for that man? I don’t want you getting me into deals I don’t agree on,” you told Loki.

“No need to worry. Everything will be explained in the future,” Loki answered. Your face flushed with frustration.

“You _will_ tell me what you’re getting me into,” you said seriously to Loki. “I’m getting tired of you putting off answers and I’m worried you’re going to put me in a position I don’t like,” you admitted.

Loki looked over at you and gave you a small smile. “I would never put you in a situation you couldn’t handle.” He paused. “Shall we be on our way?” Loki stood and began walking towards the back exit of the tavern. You sighed and stood, following him. 

You were genuinely getting tired of him keeping you out of the dark. If you were so important in aiding him in whatever he was planning, you figured that you should have a right to know everything. Loki opened the door for you that revealed a narrow, dark hallway with the exit located at the end. There were a few spots of faint yellow light coming from the small number of lanterns that had been hung up. 

You walked in front of Loki, debating whether or not you should confront him. You took a deep breath. It was worth a shot. You spun around and crossed your arms, preventing him from going any further. 

“I want you to tell me what you’re planning right now,” you said harshly. “Or you won’t have me at your disposal. If I don’t like what I hear, I won’t do it,” you threatened. 

Anger briefly flashed over Loki’s features. He took a step towards you but you stood your ground. He spoke quietly but severely. “You seem to forget what I am capable of doing. I can easily put you right back in that cell. If you try to run, I can put a pretty penny over your head. I would think things through before threatening to go against me.” 

You were slightly shocked to see Loki so blatantly blackmailing you.

“Besides,” Loki continued. He took another step towards you. “I know that you’re not going anywhere.” He took one more step towards you, forcing you to back up and slightly turn. The hall was so narrow that your back hit against the wall.

The faint light provided by the lanterns cast a dark shadow against Loki’s face. Loki gave you a mischievous look before dipping his head down next to your ear. His hand came up and slowly tugged down your hood.

“You think that you’re sly,” Loki’s deep voice said in your ear. His hand began gently skimming down your arm. You could feel goosebumps begin to form underneath your robes. “But I will always be one step ahead of you.” A faint heat began to crawl up your neck.

 _Move away,_ you commanded yourself. But you did nothing. You knew deep down you liked Loki being this close.

“You think that you’re covert,” he continued. He skimmed his nose down your neck. “But I can read you like a book.”

You began to speculate whether or not what Loki was saying was true or if these were just empty threats. However, your train of thought was quickly interrupted when Loki pressed his body against yours. A soft gasp escaped your throat and you could feel Loki smile against your neck.

“But you are quite the mystery,” Loki whispered in your ear. You noticed that his voice was becoming huskier the more he spoke. 

“Tell me,” Loki said, pressing his body a little harder against yours. “What are you keeping bottled up inside?”

You kept you lips closed, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of getting you to open up.

Loki chuckled softly. “You’re not the only one who can play this game, love.” 

Your heartrate increased when Loki pulled back to look at you. A small smile tugged on the corner of his lips. _Don’t give in,_ you thought to yourself. _He’s playing a game with you. Don’t give in._ But another, deeper part of you yearned for him and was encouraging his actions.

Loki leaned in and gently placed his lips on yours. Your stomach dipped and a tingling sensation began to form on the back of your neck. His hands skimmed down your sides, resting on your waist as you automatically wrapped your arms around his neck. You suddenly hungered for more. You felt a need to taste and explore all of him. You began to kiss back with more force and urgency. Loki returned your urgency for only a brief moment before suddenly pulling away. 

You immediately hated this separation and you wanted nothing more than to push him against the wall and continue. Loki smiled at you. “You see? You aren’t going anywhere.”

Loki took a step back and walked towards the exit.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love you guys have been giving this story! I'm really happy that it's being so well received!! I hope you enjoy this chapter! *wink* *wink*

You turned your head and watched Loki walk down the hall while you tried to calm down your breathing. You realized that your legs were slightly trembling and a faint heat had begun to travel up your belly. You pushed off against the wall and followed Loki, who opened the door for you when you reached the end. 

_What the fuck just happened,_ you asked yourself as you exited into a back alley behind the tavern. This wasn’t the first time that Loki had been able to capture you like this. You could have easily pushed him off of you and walk away and yet you didn’t. In fact, you had actually started to desire him.

You and Loki began to walk back to the palace in silence, mostly due to your slight shock. Your mind was still trying to wrap around what had just happened. To say that you didn’t enjoy it would have been massive lie. For the first time ages, you felt a deep fire ignite within you that you believed you would never be able feel again. But just as quickly as he started it, he took it away from you and you hated this feeling.  
You wondered briefly if Loki’s actions were truly genuine or if he was just trying to get inside of your head. You speculated that Loki was just toying with you in order to get you to reveal your secrets. Or maybe it was to enforce that you stayed on his side so he has access to your abilities. Suddenly, another part of your of your mind spoke up. _There has to be some kind of genuine attraction or else he would resort to a different tactic of keeping me on his side, right?_

Though your mind was going a mile a minute like a young schoolgirl, your face was completely expressionless. You acted as if nothing had happened. You didn’t want to give Loki the satisfaction that he was slowly getting through to you. Loki suddenly chuckled and you looked over. 

“You’re awfully quiet. I thought you were going to force me to tell you what I’m planning or you were going to run?”

You looked back forward, ignoring his question to which Loki grinned in response. _Dammit, I completely forgot._ You internally sighed and felt frustrated with yourself. He wanted to distract you and he succeeded. Suddenly your mind flashed back to you seeing Loki tuck the piece of paper given by Eirith in a pocket by his chest. At that moment you wanted to grin. _Bingo,_ you thought to yourself. _Two can play this game, Loki._

You had to admit to yourself that you did hunger more for Loki’s touch, which you guessed was exactly what he wanted to accomplish back in that hall. He wanted to make you to feel confused about the possibility of a genuine attraction between the two of you. He’s forcing you to stay on his side by introducing the prospect of something a little more. 

_Could it also be because I haven’t made my own feelings completely clear, as well?_ you wondered. Could it be that Loki wasn’t sure of your feelings and he had hoped that maybe you’d reciprocate back in a way that could confirm whether or not you did view him in that way? _I’m way overthinking this,_ you thought. _It was just to get in my head and right now it’s working. He wanted me to feel confused._

You decided that when you got back to the palace, it was your time to return the favor towards Loki. To get inside his head by getting him to feel like he succeeded in getting you to stay by his side. You wanted him to believe that he had gotten through to you and you just couldn’t resist your natural urges. But you also planned to use this as a distraction towards Loki in order to get the piece of paper hidden away in his jacket. 

As you walked back, you tried to figure out your plan of attack. You would need to make it seem genuine. You couldn’t raise any suspicion, as he would automatically assume that you were up to something. Your planning was quickly interrupted however when you saw a shadow move swiftly in front of you. You stopped walking.

You scanned your eyes at the road in front of you. There were only a few people standing by the sides, chatting quietly, so you immediately flickered your eyes to the rooftops. You saw a figure in all black running across the buildings’ rooftops. You grabbed Loki’s arm, stopping him. He looked over curious as you kept your eyes sweeping across the rooftops. You flicked your hood over your head and scanned the area. You rarely ever saw anyone else try to run across the rooftops, never mind so gracefully. You hadn’t recognized the clothing the runner was wearing either. You became curious about the newcomer.

Without saying a word, you quickly scaled the nearest building. You scanned the horizon looking for the mystery runner. You tuned in your sixth sense and you still couldn’t see anything. 

“Will you come down,” Loki shouted irritably. You ignored him. You started to get an uneasy feeling within you. Something wasn’t right here. You continued to scan the horizon, until you saw another black figure run across your vision. Without a second thought, you bolted, running towards the mystery runner, swiftly jumping across the gaps between the buildings.

You had no idea what you were planning on doing once you caught up to the runner. You knew you just wanted information. Within minutes, you had caught up and leapt at the runner, tackling him to the ground. The two of you grunted as you slammed against the tile of the roof. You quickly straddled the struggling runner and extended your hidden blade out, placing it in front of his neck. He grabbed your arm before you could put pressure onto his neck, holding your arm still. The mystery man was wearing a black fabric over his head with eye and mouth holes cut into it. You noticed that he had chocolate brown eyes that briefly flashed fear before turning into hatred.

“Who are you?” you said harshly.

The man smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know, sweetheart?”

You dug your knees into his sides and pushed your blade closer to his neck. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. 

“How many of you are there? What are you doing in Asgard?”

The man slowly opened his eyes. “I was told that I might get to see your abilities today. Shame it has to be like this.”

You furrowed your brows in confusion. “What are you saying?” 

The man laughed harshly. “You’ll see soon enough.” At that moment, using the hand holding your arm, he guided your blade across his own neck, killing himself.

You stood before you could get blood on yourself and retracted your hidden blade back into its hiding spot. You sighed. _Dammit,_ you thought to yourself. The man had raised more questions rather than answering any. You scanned the horizon again, hoping to see if there was a third runner, but there was nothing. 

You suddenly remembered leaving Loki. _Shit._ You had no idea where he was. You quickly jumped down from the building, landing gracefully on your feet. When you looked up, you saw Loki leaning against the adjacent building, glaring at you. _How in the world?_

“Are you done now?” Loki said harshly before continuing to walk back to the palace. 

“You aren’t in the slightest bit curious about these masked men running around in your city?” you said with irritation. 

“If they’re a cause for concern, I’m certain my brother will deal with it. It isn’t my job to protect Asgard,” Loki replied nonchalantly. 

While you and Loki were walking back in the last stretch back to the palace, you wondered for a brief moment whether or not Loki knew who these masked runners were. You thought back to Eirith and how you’ve never heard of him before. Sure, Asgard is a giant city and you certainly haven’t heard of every single person, but if this man has information or resources that Loki finds interesting, he has to have some sort of power within the city. Which would mean he would also have followers.

As the two of you walked up the steps that lead into the palace, you remembered your objective to get the piece of paper tucked away in Loki’s clothing. Suddenly, your heartrate increased and your stomach did a dip. _Stay focused,_ you told yourself. This was to make Loki believe that you were staying on his side and to get the piece of paper. Nothing else. You and Loki passed through the entrance of the palace. You had no idea whether or not Loki wanted you to continue to walk with him, but he didn’t say anything, so you continued to do so anyways. 

After a few minutes, you turned down a hall that you remembered having a long, narrow nook in the middle of it that was meant to provide support for the palace’s walls. _Perfect,_ you thought to yourself. When you reached the opening of the nook, you stopped walking and leaned against the wall, crossing your arms. 

“Loki?” you said seductively. At that moment, you wanted nothing more than to burst out laughing, but you kept a smile down. Loki stopped walking and turned towards you, looking at you curiously.

“Is there anything else you need from me today?” you asked, tugging down your hood, a small smirk forming on the edge of your lips.

Loki narrowed his eyes at you, becoming suspicious. His eyes flickered over your form, trying to figure out what you were up to. 

“Not right at this moment,” Loki said warily. 

You smiled. “Good.”

You reached over and grabbed the belt that rested diagonally across his chest, tugging him into the nook and into the shadows. You stood on your tip toes as you walked backwards, crashing your lips against his. You became worried for a brief second when Loki didn’t reciprocate back, his lips still from shock. The feeling soon disappeared however as he quickly returned your kiss with fervor. He put his hands on either side of neck and you noticed that they felt slightly calloused and rough against your soft skin. You grabbed the edges of his long jacket, pulling him closer to you. 

You skimmed Loki’s lower lip with your tongue, asking him permission for entrance. He quickly obliged and both your tongues swiftly met each other’s. Your heartrate began to quicken and you could feel the fire start again deep within your belly. You wanted nothing more than to get carried away but you needed to remember the reason why you were doing this. 

You pushed Loki against the wall with a little bit more force than intended. Your kisses became hotter, more urgent. You pressed your hips hard against his, earning you a deep moan from the back of his throat that caused a shiver to travel down your spine. You released one hand that was gripping his jacket and slowly began to brush it downwards. You gently cupped him and noticed that he was starting to become hard. You smiled into the kiss as you applied a small amount of pressure, causing a rumble to come from deep within his chest. 

Suddenly, Loki laced his hands around your backside. He broke the kiss for split second to huskily whisper, “Jump.” You obliged, wrapping your legs around his waist, bringing you up to more his height. Loki took the two steps to the other side of the hall, bumping your back against the wall. Between the wall and Loki’s body, you weren’t going anywhere. Your new height also gave you easier access to Loki’s mouth. You tangled your hands in his hair, locking him in your embrace. 

You broke away from the kiss for air and Loki began to trail sloppy kisses across your jaw and down your neck. You squeezed Loki’s waist tighter with your inner thighs, biting your bottom lip as your hunger deepened and you could feel yourself become warmer. _Focus,_ an inner voice reminded you.

As Loki continued to kiss and nip at your neck’s skin, you slowly removed one hand from his hair and brushed it between the both of you, as if you were feeling his chest. You slipped it underneath his jacket, searching for the hidden pocket. While you were searching, Loki pressed his groin a little harder against your heat, causing you to still your hand and bury your head in his neck. A small moan escaped from your mouth. You brought your head up and began kissing him once again. You continued to brush your hand against the inside of his jacket, until you finally found an opening in the fabric. 

In order to distract him, you squeezed your legs harder around him, causing another deep rumble to come from him. You slipped your index and middle finger into the pocket, pinching the paper. You carefully slipped it out of the pocket. 

To try and distract him again, you broke away from the kiss for a second time and buried your head by his ear. You moaned his name, causing him to press hard against you again. But before his chest pressed against yours, you swiftly slipped your hand out of his jacket while pinching the paper and brought it around his waist. You promptly reached over to one of your boots that you had easy access to due to your legs being wrapped around him. You tucked the paper into your boot and quickly returned your hand to his hair. 

You returned your lips to Loki’s. You began to slowly release the pressure around Loki’s waist and started to unwrap your legs. Loki took a slight step back to make room. The kisses began to slow down and your back slid down the wall as you returned to your height. You gently pushed him back to the other wall. You pulled away and smirked at him. You raised yourself on your tiptoes before putting your mouth by his ear. 

“One step ahead?” you questioned seductively. You brushed your hand against his groin, now a hardened bulge.

Loki chuckled darkly. “I’m not an idiot,” he said, his voice still husky. “I know what you’re doing.”

You pulled back. “Oh?” you said, raising your brows. You began kissing Loki again, building back up the urgency. You grabbed Loki’s hand and slowly brushed it up your side, guiding it towards your breasts. But right before his hand could make purchase, you stopped. 

“Payback’s a bitch,” you said against his lips before stepping away and walking out of the nook and down the hall.

~

You walked straight back to your room, never looking behind you to see where Loki went off to. When you reached your room, you plopped down in one of the chairs by the fireplace, putting your feet on the small coffee table. You reached into your boot and slipped out the piece of paper you had tucked inside. You unfolded it and scanned your eyes over the paper, silently thanking Loki for the gift he unknowingly gave to you.

The handwriting was difficult to decipher as if it had been hastily written. You noticed that there were lists of different names as well as addresses written on the paper, but nothing else. No notes, no plans, no orders. You flipped the paper back and forth to see if there was anything else, but there wasn’t. You sighed. There wasn’t anything useful to you on the paper. You had no clue who these people were or their involvement with Loki and Eirith. 

You wondered for a moment if the man that killed himself today on the rooftop was listed on the paper. If only you had gotten his name. You were staring at the paper for a good fifteen minutes trying to figure out a connection between the names before hearing a rapid knock on your door. You looked over and Hogun barged in, breathing fast.

“We need your help. The palace is being stormed,” Hogun said quickly. You nodded your head, putting the paper back into your boot and got up, following Hogun out of your room. He started to run through the halls and you followed suit, returning you hood back over your head.

When you got closer towards the entry hall of the palace you started to hear the clanging of metal. You and Hogun entered and he ran towards a group of the intruders that were starting gang up on Thor.  
You noticed that these men were dressed exactly the same as the men on the rooftops. To your right, Fandral pierced one of the intruders with his sword with ease. He turned to you.

“Hello m’lady. Hope all is well. Try to make damage to property minimal,” he advised, winking at you before attacking another intruder.

You quickly tuned in your sixth sense and your brain automatically counted twenty-three men. You drew out your own sword and attacked. After you had taken down the fourth enemy, you saw one of the intruders slip out of the battle and run up one of the main flights of stairs out of the corner of your eye. You quickly returned your sword into its sheath and bolted after the man. But before you could reach the stairs, two of the masked men stepped in front of you, arms locked together, preparing block you from going on the stairs. You saw that they had abandoned their weapons.

“Idiots,” you mumbled to yourself. When you slammed into their arms, you placed your palms on their necks and extended the blades into their flesh. They fell to the floor and you continued to sprint after the runner. 

You caught up within seconds. You grabbed the man’s arm and slammed his whole body against the wall. You kept your forearm pressed tightly against his throat, restricting his airwave but giving him enough access to air that he wouldn’t pass out on you. You kept him pinned against the wall while he clawed at your arm, begging you to let go.

“Who are you?” you asked sternly. 

You released your arm a small amount so he could talk. “Fuck you,” was all he said.

You sighed dramatically. You slammed your arm back against his throat, causing him to cry out in pain.

“That’s not what I asked, was it?” you said in a twisted, playful tone. You gave him a questioning look. “Was it?” you repeated.

He quickly shook his head back and forth in small motions, his range of movement limited by your arm.

“I’m going to ask you one more time. Who are you?”

You again released your arm enough for him to speak, but not to move. He kept quiet. You raised your brows at him and he still didn’t answer. You sighed dramatically for a second time. 

You quickly brought your knee up and slammed it into his groin, causing him to yelp loudly in response. You kept your knee placed there as you spoke again. “You’re running my patience thin here, buddy.” You pushed your knee harder against his groin and he whimpered in response.

“You _want_ me to press harder?” you asked with mock disbelief. He shook his head.

“Then give me your name,” you said harshly.

“Kn-Knolf,” he whimpered, his voice higher pitched. 

“And who are you working for?” you pressed for more information

When he kept quiet you began to push your knee harder into his groin. “No! No! Stop! I-I’ll tell you. Just don’t go any further,” he whimpered.

You paused and raised your brows at him, waiting. 

“Eirith. His name is Eirith,” he choked out.

You gave him a big smile. “Thank you,” you said in a sugary voice. “That’s all I wanted.”

He gave you smile in return. “You’ll let me go now?” his tone hopeful.

“Of course,” you replied sweetly. But before he could realize what was happening, you put your hand on his forehead and slammed his head against the wall, knocking him out. 

Your suspicion about the connection between the masked men and Loki were confirmed. However, you couldn’t remember seeing the name ‘Knolf’ on Loki’s paper that Eirith had given him. Was Eirith going behind Loki’s back by sending his men to attack the palace or was this apart of Loki’s plan? If that was the case, why in the world would Loki have Eirith’s men attack his own home?


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a couple of days! I was doing so well with my updates too! I fell a little bit under the weather but do not fear! I am back! So, to make up for it I shall be posting another chapter later today! Woo!

“Poor guy didn’t have a chance,” you heard Loki’s voice come from your left. You looked over and saw him leaning against the wall, watching you with…admiration? He straightened up and walked towards you. “I have to say. I am quite impressed with your work,” Loki said, looking down at the man you had just knocked out. “But unfortunately,” he continued, looking back at you. “You picked the wrong one.”

“Why aren’t you helping everyone else to protect your home?” you questioned, crossing your arms.

Loki squatted down and placed his hand underneath Knolf’s jaw, twisting his head back and forth, assessing the damage you had done. 

“Simple. I was waiting for one of Eirith’s men to come to me. But you’ve already figured all that out, haven’t you?”

Loki eyed your face for a split second before reaching over and plucking the piece of paper out of your boot. “I believe this belongs to me,” Loki said, flashing you a grin. 

He stood and waved the paper in front of you. “One step ahead,” Loki said cheekily before slipping it back into his jacket. Your jaw became slightly slacked in disbelief. 

You quickly composed your face. “Why in the world would you have Eirith’s men storm your own home?” you asked.

Loki smirked. “I guess you don’t have everything figured out. Come now, I thought you smarter than this.” 

Loki turned around and walked in the opposite direction of where the fight was taking place and you sighed in frustration. You debated for a second to chase after Loki and try to get more answers, but you figured that you would find out eventually. You returned back down to the staircase. As you were walking down, you saw Thor knock out the last of intruders, finishing the battle.

You also saw Odin off to the side, holding his spear in his right hand, assessing the damage. You hadn’t even noticed before that Odin was a part of the fighting. When you reached the bottom of the staircase, Fandral approached you.

“Where did you run off to?” he asked curiously.

“One of them decided to go off and explore the palace,” you said. You gave Fandral a small smile. “He’s currently knocked out up there,” you said, gesturing to the general direction with your head.

Hogun spoke up when he heard your answer. “Did you manage to get any information?” he asked, hopeful.

You shook your head. “No,” you lied.

His face fell slightly. “That’s alright.” Hogun turned towards Odin. “What do you want to do with all these bodies?” he asked.

Odin was scanning the fallen intruders with an angered look on his face. Odin ignored Hogun’s question as he stepped over the bodies, staring at them as if he were trying to figure something out. Everyone stood quiet, awaiting his answer. Odin stopped and continued to stare at the floor. “How?” he said so quietly you had to strain your ears to hear him. His expression quickly changed from one of confusion to one of realization. Odin looked up at you and stared at you, causing your stomach to plummet. 

_No_ , you thought. _There’s no way he knows anything._ You narrowed your eyes at him, daring him to accuse you of being involved. 

“Father?” Thor spoke, wondering what Odin was thinking.

Odin turned his head towards Thor. “Put those still alive in the dungeons. I’ll deal with them later,” he said. Odin then turned back and looked directly at you when he said, “I need to go find my son.”

He briskly walked by you and made his way up the stairs, off to go find Loki. You wondered if you should go and try to find Loki first in order to warn him but your decision was made for you when Fandral called your name. 

You looked over and saw him holding up one of the fallen intruders by the shoulders, giving you a big smile. “A little help would be appreciated, m’lady.”

You walked over and picked up the man’s feet and the two of you carried him towards the dungeons. As you walked, guards passed you towards the location of the fight in order to help with the cleanup.

“A little late there,” you commented at the now arriving guards. Fandral gave a small laugh. “They were ensuring no one else entered the palace,” Fandral explained. “With Thor around there isn’t that much of a need for extra hands during a fight.”

“I suppose your right,” you said back. You eyed Fandral’s half of the body. “Why are you having me help you? You can easily carry him yourself,” you accused.

Fandral gave you big smile. “You got me there. It just feels like it’s been a while since we last saw each other m’lady.”

“Ah,” was all you said back. You had zero desire to travel down this road with Fandral. When you dropped the man off at the entrance of the stairs leading to the dungeons, Fandral turned to you.

“Walk with me?” he asked, giving you a charming smile. What you really wanted to do was go and find Loki and see how much Odin suspects, but you remembered that you had to be as friendly with them as possible. 

“Sure,” you agreed. Fandral’s smile widened. He then led you down the different halls of the palace with no particular destination in mind. 

“I know that we have differing views of the world,” Fandral started. _Oh no,_ you thought. _Please don’t continue._ “And that you prefer to do the whole solo, vigilante thing, but I really do find you intriguing. And now that we’ve been forced into this partnership, I feel like we might as well get to know each other while we’re at it. If you get my drift.”

You sighed. “Look, Fandral, you’re nice an-”

“Is there someone else?” Fandral interrupted. He didn’t sound hurt, just curious.

Your mind flashed to Loki. “No, there isn’t,” you answered.

Fandral put an arm in front of you, placing his hand against the wall, trapping you. He leaned in close to your ear, but you didn’t budge, keeping your face expressionless.

“Then it doesn’t hurt to try, darling,” Fandral whispered. He peeked over at your face, trying to see how you were reacting to his advances. He sighed quietly. “It’s a shame that you feel the need to cover your beautiful face with that hood of yours.” He began to reach for you hood but you swiftly grabbed his wrist, stopping him. 

“Other women might find you charming Fandral, but I would suggest different tactics if you’re going to try and get me into your bed,” you said, giving him an annoyed look. 

Fandral chuckled. “You certainly aren’t like other women, are you?”

You released his wrist and ducked underneath his arm that was blocking you. You walked away from Fandral, not particularly caring that you just left him standing there. You noticed that Fandral had brought you to an unfamiliar part of the palace and you had no clue how you were supposed to get back to your room. You were taking random turns, hoping to find a hall that looked familiar, when all of a sudden you heard Odin’s stern voice travel down one of them.

Curious, you walked quietly towards the sound of his voice, making sure that you made no noise. You reached a door that hadn’t been closed all the way. You gently placed your back against the wall, next to the door frame, and turned your head to get a better listen.

“This isn’t something that’s out of your character, Loki,” Odin nearly shouted. You could tell that Odin was trying to hold down his temper.

“Yes, but you seem to forget that I’ve done a lot of good for you as well,” Loki answered smoothly. You peeked through the crack of the door and saw that this was Odin’s study. He was standing behind a huge mahogany desk, his hands leaning on top of it, while Loki stood in front of him, his back facing you. 

“Only out of self-interest. Loki, you put everyone living here in danger.”

“You have absolutely no evidence of my involvement.”

“But I do.”

“Is that so? Because I would certainly like to hear it. Is it the fact that I’ve done wrong in your eyes so many times in the past, so you assumed that it must be me again? I simply state my opinion in front of you and you find me disappointing,” Loki replied, his tone conveying both anger and sadness.

“You know that isn’t true,” Odin spoke.

At that moment you heard a servant turn down the hall, her shoes clacking noisily against the floor. She was holding a covered silver tray, about to bring it into the study. You raised your hand at her, causing her to stop walking. She looked slightly surprised. She opened her mouth to say something but you put your index finger to your mouth, indicating for her to be quiet. She stood there in silence when you turned your head back to the door to continue listening. 

“- from the beginning it’s always been about Thor. You’ve been setting one of us up for failure since the beginning. If anything I do or say doesn’t involve Thor coming out on top, you have no desire to –“

“We will _not_ be having that conversation right now, Loki” Odin interrupted forcefully. “This is about what has happened today and how you’ve allowed for your own home to become endangered. Imagine if something went wrong with your plan. What if Frigga became hurt from one of the men that had come here today?”

“Do not accuse me of that! I would never let mother become endangered,” Loki said, furious. You couldn’t help but slightly recoil at Loki’s tone. You’ve never heard him so genuinely angry. 

“But that’s exactly what you did today, Loki!” Odin said, his voice rising. “If we had not stopped them when they first entered the palace, who knows what could have happened!”

“I will not stand here and listen to you accuse me of purposefully trying to put my mother in danger,” Loki said, beginning to turn around. 

You took that as your cue to leave. You quickly walked up to the servant and whispered, “I wasn’t here.” You gave her a threatening look and she rapidly nodded her head, slightly nervous. You silently ran down the hall and around the corner. You heard Loki and Odin continuing to argue from your hiding place, but you could no longer decipher exactly what they were saying. It was a few minutes before you heard Loki’s angry footsteps travel down the opposite direction from where you were. 

You stood there in silence, thinking over what you had just overheard. You always figured that Loki would had to have friction with his father after some of the things he’s done in Asgard, but witnessing it was another thing all together. Even though it was his fault, you couldn’t help but feel bad that Odin had been so quick to put the blame on Loki’s shoulders. If Loki wasn’t the one who had been responsible to today’s event, would Odin still have put the blame on him? Odin didn’t have any evidence against Loki and yet he still accused him. 

You couldn’t help but keep replaying Loki’s reaction when Odin accused him of trying to hurt Frigga and the amount of anger he expressed. Based on his reaction, you reckoned that was a sore spot for Loki and Odin knew exactly where to poke him to anger him. You wondered if Odin had said that in order to get Loki to open up and admit that he was the one guilty. 

_Has it always been like this for Loki growing up?_ you questioned. You began to empathize with Loki. You knew what it was like to feel abandoned by your parents, but to have a parent, who is supposed to love and cherish all children equally, blatantly favor one child over the other. You had no idea how that would make you feel. 

You suddenly felt sorry for Loki the more you began to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He was raised in the shadow of Thor, always promised the aspect of being able to rule and then had it taken away from him. You’ve always hated Thor and his arrogance but you could only imagine how Loki must feel.

You thought back to the painting you saw the other day and you had an urge to go and see it again. You walked around the palace for a good hour before finding it again. You looked up and stared at Loki and Frigga’s hand on his shoulder. You stared at Loki’s faint expression of sadness and remembered wondering if Frigga was comforting him. 

You thought back to how even though she barely knew you, Frigga was there when you woke up. She was your shoulder to cry on. She gave you her wisdom and displayed her unconditional capacity to love towards you. You remembered how much that meant to you, that she took the time to do that. Does Loki have the same kind of relationship with Frigga?

You had no clue if your thinking had any merit to it or not. You decided to push the thoughts to the side for now, saving them for a later time. Your stomach suddenly grumbled at you and you sighed. You turned and made your way to the kitchens. _I shouldn’t be looking too far into this,_ you thought as you walked. _This is none of my business and I could very well be wrong._ If it really was a sore topic, that last thing you figured Loki would want would be for you to come in and start poking in his business.

While you were walking towards the kitchens, you could swear you suddenly heard footsteps behind you. You turned around, but saw no one there. You scanned the area around you. You warily turned back around and continued to walk. You started to get an uneasy feeling in your stomach. Your senses became heightened and you kept your eyes and ears open for any sign of danger.

By the time you heard the footsteps again, it was too late. Someone put their arm around your head, their elbow covering your mouth. They wrapped their other arm around your throat, locking you against their body with a steel-like embrace. You twisted and struggled to get out of the chokehold, but their strength was overpowering your own and your vision was becoming blurry from the lack of oxygen. You frantically tried to remember how to get out of such a stance, but nothing was coming to mind. Your body slowly started to become slack as you gasped for air.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** This chapter contains themes that some people may not be entirely comfortable with. Parts will be a little graphic.

You felt your body being tugged and dragged backwards. You clawed at mystery person’s arm as you were wheezing for air. Your lungs were starting to burn and a massive headache was forming. You suddenly remembered your hidden blades. You flicked one of them out and swung it upwards. However, your attempt was feeble and the person was able to catch your wrist with ease. You heard a door opening and you were forcefully thrown onto the floor. Your head slammed against the concrete floor, causing your vision to turn completely black for a few seconds. You yelped and grabbed the back your head as if that would help soothe the sharp pain there. 

The mystery person aggressively grabbed one of your wrists and slipped a knife underneath the brown leather straps that held your hidden blades in place. In one swift movement, they flicked the blade up and a small snapping sound echoed throughout the room as your blades were cut away. The person began to reach for the second one but you grabbed their arm. Your vision was still blurry but the person and the room you were in were starting to slowly come into focus. 

You realized that the person that had grabbed you was one of Eirith’s men, indicated by the same black outfit and mask. He growled at your touch and easily twisted his wrist around so that your hand was trapped within his own. He swiftly grabbed your other hand and pinned them both on either side of your face. In order to keep them there, he slammed his knees on the inside of your elbows, causing you to cry out in pain. With his knees keeping you in place, he reached back over to your other hidden blade and quickly removed that one as well. 

When you looked up, you noticed that he had brought you into one of the servant’s supply closets. It smelled strongly of cleaning chemicals and dirty laundry. A single lantern hung above your head, providing minimal light. 

You tried struggling against the man’s hold on you. You brought your legs up to try and to kick him, but he simply dug his feet into your thighs. Pain swiftly coursed throughout your leg. You gritted your teeth, not wanting to cry out in pain and give him the satisfaction of hurting you. 

“It’s not that fun being on this side, is it?” the masked man said to you. You barley recognized his voice, but you knew that you’ve heard it before. You kept quiet and he dug his knees further in your elbows. You gritted your teeth harder, sweat now forming on your forehead as pain shot up your arms. 

“I’ll let you go, if you promise to do something for me,” he said menacingly. You glared at the man while trying to breathe through the pain he was causing you. 

“It’s very simple. I just need you to go down to the dungeons and let my fellow men go free.”

You gave him one harsh laugh. “You’re a fucking idiot,” you spat at him. “I don’t have that kind of power. If you want that to happen, I suggest becoming friends with Thor.”

He further pressed his weight into you and this time you couldn’t help but yelp at the pain that it caused. 

“You are feisty one, aren’t you?” he said, his face coming closer towards you. You immediately cringed at his sudden approach. You noticed that his breath smelt putrid, reminding you of moldy cheese. You tried not gag at the smell that molested your senses. He pulled back. 

“If you can’t help me get my friends out of the dungeons, you might as well be useful for something.” You turned your head away and squeezed your eyes shut. You tried to struggle against his hold again but that only forced him to put more pressure on the inside of your elbows and thighs. He tightly grabbed your jaw and forced you to look at him. 

“Consider this a reimbursement for thinking it a good idea to knee me in the balls.”

You couldn’t help but bark out a humorless laugh. _This bastard,_ you thought. You realized that this was the man you had chased down earlier. The man who was supposed to go to Loki. Knolf, his name was. Apparently, the guards had forgotten to pick him up from the hall while cleaning up. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t laugh if I were you, dear,” Knolf said. He leaned in closer and you tried to turn your head again, but he was still holding onto your jaw. “Eirith likes to starve his men, if you know what I mean. When I saw you walking by me, I just couldn’t resist. When I woke up, I was wandering around the palace trying to find Loki, but instead I come across his little sidekick who had the nerve stop me earlier. You were simply lucky that you were able to catch me the way you did, dove. Don’t think that you actually have strength over me.”

He leaned in closer and grabbed a lock of your hair, inhaling the scent. He looked over at you. “You do smell delicious.” You didn’t say anything. You simply glared at him with revulsion. 

“Aw, tsk, tsk. Don’t look at me like that, dove. Eirith made sure to tell us all about you. How Loki will be accompanied by a hooded assassin. We were told that we weren’t allowed to touch you while he was around, but,” Knolf paused, giving you a grin that showed off yellow, crooked teeth. “I don’t see Loki anywhere, do you?

“You really are a moron,” you said in disbelief. “Even if you are able to get your way with me, you really think Loki or Eirith won’t find out about this. And then you can kiss your precious position of importance goodbye.”

Knolf chucked. “You don’t realize that Eirith could care less about what happens to you.”

“Yes, but I’m certain Loki won’t take it too well. Which could cause bad relations between him and Eirith. Which will then trickle down to you,” you said smugly. 

Knolf paused and stared at you in silence, realizing that you were clearly right. 

“You’re smarter than I gave you credit for. But who’s to say that they will even believe you. You won’t even be able give them a name, seeing as I gave you a false one.” He pulled his knife against your throat and you went completely still. “Who’s to say that I will even keep you alive afterwards?” You swallowed hard as your skin hit the cool metal. 

“What makes you even think you can get your way with me?” you threw an empty threat at him.

He chuckled. “Oh, dove. You may be strong for a woman, but you are still a woman.” He leaned towards you, placing his mouth on your neck, next to the blade. “It really has been a while since Eirith last gave us a woman.”

Knolf, or whatever his real name was, pressed his lips against your neck. You tried to recoil away but you were held still by both the hand holding your jaw and other holding the knife. He slipped out his tongue, and ran it all the way up your neck and to your jaw. You squeezed your eyes shut as you felt his hot, foul breath and wet tongue travel all the way up to your ear. Your brain frantically raced, trying to figure out a way to get of out the situation. Knolf released his hand that way holding your jaw and you immediately turned your head in the opposite direction of his mouth. Knolf forcefully grabbed your breast as he continued to lick your neck. He pulled back and looked at you.

“Look at me,” Knolf said. You refused, keeping your head turned and your eyes shut.

“I said, look at me!” he nearly shouted. You opened your eyes and looked over. You gave him an expression of detestation, keeping your appearance strong. 

Knolf removed his hand from your breast and brushed it across your face. “You are a pretty one. Loki certainly does have good taste. Tell me. Has he gotten his way with you yet?”

You said nothing and he chuckled. “I sure do hope so. That’ll be quite the achievement. Taking something the prince has claimed for his own.” He put his hand back onto your breast and squeezed hard. You felt absolutely humiliated. You had never been put into this position of weakness before. You had always been careful. You wanted this man to be tortured. You wanted to beat him to pulp for the way he was treating you. 

Suddenly, an idea popped in your head. You knew you weren’t going to like what you were about to do, but it was the best shot that you had. You waited until the right opportunity presented itself. _You picked the wrong person to try to do this to,_ you angrily thought at him. Knolf began kissing your neck again and slowly made his way downwards. When his mouth reached the top hem of your tunic, he paused. He pressed the knife harder against you neck, drawing a small amount of blood. 

“Don’t move,” he threatened. 

He released his knees from your elbows as well as his feet from your thighs. He kept the hand holding the knife by your neck while he used his other hand to begin hastily removing your weapons. He removed your sword and the knives that were tucked away in your belt, throwing them into a corner you couldn’t reach. Once they were all gone, he spoke.

“On your hands and knees,” he spat. You began to get up when he pressed his knife harder against your throat. “I want you to pretend that you want this or you will no longer have a life,” he threatened. You swallowed hard, nodding your head. 

When you sat up, you paused. “On your hands and knees,” he forcefully said again. 

You looked up at him. “I want to be on top,” you said, pretending to act timid.

“Excuse me?” he said.

“I said that I want to be on top,” you repeated, trying to hide your disgust within a tone of seduction. You tried to give him a look as if you were sincerely interested in him and wanted him. He narrowed his eyes at you and faster than he could comprehend you put your hands onto his chest, pushing him onto his back. He quickly raised his knife back at you and you pretended to be slightly scared. 

“I just want to be on top,” you whined. “You’ll get a better feel that way.” You’ve never been so close to gagging at your own words. 

“What are you up to?” he asked. You were genuinely surprised that you had gotten this far. This man truly was an idiot. 

“I’m just so lonely. Loki doesn’t satisfy me the way I bet you can.”

He kept his knife by your neck when you straddled his hips. You noticed that he was already rock hard through his pants. You pressed your heat hard against his groin and leaned forward.

“So, you want to get your way with Loki’s girl, huh?” you asked seductively. He nodded his head quickly and grabbed your hips, but you immediately took his hands away and pinned them next to his head. “But if I remember correctly, only Loki gets to have his way with his girl.” 

“This presents a bit of a problem, doesn’t it?” you said. You pressed your heat hard against him again and he moaned. “Oh, fuck,” he mumbled. 

“Do you want to have your way with me?” you asked again. You leaned over next to his ear. “Close your eyes,” you whispered. 

He obeyed and you ran your hand down his chest, but you stilled it right before it reached the edge of his pants. You slowly began to move your hips in circular motions and he groaned. While you had him distracted you reached over to one of the hidden blades that was close enough you could just grab it with your fingertips. You quietly pulled the blade out of its hiding place. Before he could notice anything, you shoved it into his lower abdomen and he cried out in extreme pain.

“You think that it’s fun raping women? You think that you can just pick anyone you want and force her to have sex with you?” You placed the blade against his throat. 

“You fucking bitch,” he spat at you. 

“At least I’m not the rapist,” you said back easily. “Tell me. How many women have you forced to have sex with you? For each one, I’ll give you a little present from each of them,” you threatened. 

He didn’t answer you, he simply continued to grunt and breathe heavily from the pain. 

“Was it two? Three? Six? Ten? How many?” you said again, this time with anger. “Tell me and I promise I won’t do anything.”

“Five,” he stupidly spat at you. “Eirith has only given us five. You should being doing this to him, not me.”

“Oh, but you still forced yourself onto those women who wanted nothing to do with you. So here’s from the first girl you felt necessary to put your filth in.” You stabbed him again in the abdomen and he cried out in pain. 

“Number two,” you said, stabbing him again. 

“Number three…number four...,” you continued, stabbing him with each number you announced.  
“…aaannnddd…” You trailed the blade over his belly, scraping it against him. “…number five.” You stabbed him one final time. Tears were coming out of his eyes as he begged you for mercy.

You put the blade against his neck and your head by his ear. “And this one is for all the women you would have done this to in the future.” You slid it against his neck slowly. He choked and gurgled as his blood came pooling out of his neck. You felt absolutely no remorse as you watched the life slowly slip away from the man. 

You stood up and collected the weapons that he had removed from you. You tied the broken straps of your hidden blades onto your belt. You slammed the door open to the supply closet. You reached over and grabbed the man’s ankle pulling him out of the closet. You continued to drag him in this manner behind you throughout the palace. His blood left a trail behind the two of you, staining the golden floors with dark red. 

A few servants stared at you in complete shock as you passed, seeing your arms covered in blood and you dragging a dead man. A few even ran off to go and find guards but you ignored everyone that you passed. Within minutes, you made it to Odin’s study.

You banged your fist on the door and opened it. When you entered you noticed that Loki had returned and was sitting in one of the nearby chairs having a serious conversation with Odin, who was sitting behind the desk. They both looked over at you in shock.

You dropped the man’s ankle unceremoniously. “I caught you a rapist, King Odin,” you spat. You looked over and glared at Loki. If it weren’t for him, this man would never had tried to go after you. Odin quickly stood and walked over to you.

“What happened?” Odin asked, his voice concerned.

“One of your guards forgot to pick up one of the intruders to bring to the dungeons,” you said, not bothering to hide your anger.

“Did he do anything to you?” Odin asked. 

“No. He attempted, though. He just unfortunately just picked the wrong person to do it to.”

Odin was staring at the man when you head the clanking of armor coming towards the study. Guards had arrived with their swords raised. “Is everything alright, King Odin?” one of them asked. 

He raised his hand. “Return to your stations. I can handle everything from here.” The guards in the front eyed him warily before obeying their orders.

“If you don’t mind, King Odin,” you started and he looked over to you. “I would like to go back to my room now.”

He nodded his head. “Of course. I’ll deal with the body.”

You shot Loki an angry look before turning around and storming out of the room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first chapter I was a little uncertain writing. I sometimes that I feel like I went a little too far with the Reader (kinda) torturing the man, but I felt that it was also important for her character. I feel like it shows how she won't let people make her feel defenseless and that even though she isn't necessarily the "good guy", she knows that there are limits. She just has a different idea of how the situation should be handled. I hope that my explanation makes sense!


	21. Chapter 21

You walked hastily away from Odin’s study, anger radiating from all over you. Servants cringed away from you as you passed, afraid that you might hurt them, but you paid them no mind. You were filled to the brim with negative energy and you wanted nothing more than to take it out on something. The man that you had killed hadn’t entirely satisfied your itch for revenge. 

You turned a corner and leaned your back against the wall. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. You slowly unclenched your fists as you took another deep breath. _Relax,_ you told yourself. _Control your anger. You gave that man what he deserved and there’s nothing else you could do about it._ You could only imagine how you would feel at this moment if he had gotten his way with you. You nearly shivered. 

Your mind flashed back to the way his putrid breath felt on your neck and his aggressive touch on your breast. You thought back to the way you had to grind on his filth. You shuddered. _Don’t think about this anymore. It’s over. He’s dead. He can’t hurt you or anyone else._ You then thought to the poor five girls he admitting to raping. You could only imagine the way they must have felt. You wondered if they felt completely defenseless while he was committing the act and that he would never receive justice for what he did. You hoped that whoever and wherever his victims were, they would feel a little bit more a peace if they knew what you had just done. Though your anger towards Knolf began to slowly disappear, your anger towards Loki seem to intensify. You knew that he directly had no involvement for what happened but if it weren’t for his actions, this would never have occurred. 

Your negative energy started to slowly fade the more you took deep breaths. Your stomach growled, reminding you of what you were going to do before you were taken. You walked towards the kitchens, much calmer than before. When you arrived you saw Hogun and Volstagg sitting there, eating their dinner. You walked towards them, grabbing a clean plate that a servant had just dried off. He glared at your back as you took a seat next to Volstagg and across from Hogun.

You filled your plate to the brim with food and began to eat, not saying a word. You looked up and saw Hogun staring at you with a curious expression. Volstagg suddenly boomed out a laugh that made you slightly jump.

“Ah ha ha! M’lady still has a big appetite I see!” He poked your arm. “You should be as big as me by now!”

Volstagg and Hogun continued on with the conversation they had been having before you arrived. You paid them no attention, solely focusing on eating your food. When you had eaten about half your meal you put down your fork and looked over at Hogun.

“Hogun?” you asked quietly. He and Volstagg stopped talking and looked over at you. 

You looked between the two before reaching down to your belt, untying the broken leather traps of your hidden blades. You put them on the table and pushed them towards him. He picked them up while giving you a questioning look. 

“I was wondering if you…or someone you may know…could possibly fix my blades.” You paused, watching Hogun turn the blades in his hand, admiring them. 

“I…I don’t have any money. But I figured giving you a chance to look at them…or even test them out…would be a sufficient enough payment,” you offered.

Hogun gave you a gentle smile. “I’ll have these fixed for you by tomorrow,” he said, putting them onto the bench next to him.

You gave him an appreciative smile. “Thanks.”

“Hurry up, you dogs!” you suddenly heard a loud, heavily accented man behind you shout. You swiveled your head around, twisting your body to see the source of the noise. A seven foot man with a large potbelly was clapping his hands loudly and repeatedly while shouting at the different cooks and servants in the kitchen. 

“We need food that was supposed to be served ten minutes ago! We’re behind schedule here!” He leaned over to a small, young girl that was hurriedly placing different items of food on a tray. “Move it, move it, move it!” he screamed at the little girl.

“What’s his problem?” you asked Volstagg as you watched the little girl put a cover on the tray and practically sprint out of the kitchen. 

Volstagg turned around to see who you were looking at. He gave a slight chuckle. “That’s Nald. He’s the head of this kitchen. Very strict man. You don’t cause trouble in his kitchen.” Volstagg turned back around and continued to eat. “He’s angered easily if something doesn’t go his way. Looks like they’re behind schedule,” Volstagg said, his mouth full of food.

You continued to watch him yell at the different cooks with a half amused-expression on your face. He walked over to one of the chefs stirring a pot over a giant fire. “You told me that would be done a half hour ago! We have royals with empty stomachs right now!”

“Yes, I know, Nald. I’m trying my best,” he spoke back. Nald put his face next to the cook’s, his face turning an unattractive shade of red and purple. “If you were really trying your best, this would have been done a half hour like you told me!”

The cook flinched away as Nald’s salvia landed on him as he yelled at him. Another small servant girl bravely approached the frazzled chef, holding an empty silver tray. 

“Excuse me, Nald?” she squeaked out. He quickly turned around and she immediately recoiled. Her cheeks became bright red. “I was wondering if Master Loki’s meal has been prepared yet. He’s getting quite impatient,” she said quietly, clearly terrified. 

“His meal would have been prepared by now if this jackass actually did what he was told,” Nald spat out, smacking the cook next to him upside the head. The young girl immediately flinched and hugged the tray close to her, tearing forming in her eyes. 

“Is there anything I can give to him? I don’t want to upset Master Loki again,” she said, her voice trembling. 

Nald sighed loudly. “Come with me. Master Loki is just going to have to eat something else tonight.”

You turned back around. “The royals don’t eat with each other?” you asked both Volstagg and Fandral.

“On occasion,” Hogun answered. “They get most their meals delivered directly to their rooms.”

“And we’re left to sit here in the hot kitchen for our meals,” Volstagg grumbled, taking another bite of his food.

Hogun flicked a slice of pepper at Volstagg. “Quit complaining. You practically get all your food from the banquet table in the dining hall.”

Volstagg and Hogun began to bicker and you turned around, tuning them out. You watched the young girl filling up Loki’s tray with shaking hands. You watched her place a cover on the tray and begin to make her way out of the kitchen. 

You stood and left Hogun and Volstagg without saying a word. You followed the little girl out of the kitchen and quickly caught up to her. If she were bringing this to Loki, then that must mean he was now alone, a perfect opportunity to give him a piece of your mind. 

“You bringing that Loki?” you asked, nodding you head at the tray in her hands. Her eyes widened at you in shock. “It’s Master Loki, miss. And yes.”

You raised your brow in amusement. “ _Master_ Loki?”

“You should always give the prince the upmost respect towards him, miss,” she chirped at you easily, as if that had been drilled into her head. 

“And what happens if you don’t,” you asked curiously. She gave you scared expression.

“Oh, you get punished, miss.”

“How are you punished?”

She shook your head. “I don’t personally know, miss. But some of my friends have come back with bruises when they disobeyed one of Master Loki’s orders.”

 _Huh,_ you thought. This wasn’t something you had ever witnessed Loki doing. _I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised,_ you figured, _given Loki’s reputation._

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, miss,” the little girl spoke up to you. “Why exactly are you following me to Master Loki’s chambers?”

“I need to discuss something with him,” you answered simply, giving her a small smile.

“I don’t want to sound rude, miss. But I don’t think Master Loki will appreciate it if I brought someone else along with me. I don’t want me nor you to get in trouble.”

You gave her a reassuring smile. “No need to worry. Loki won’t mind seeing me and with you with me, I won’t let him punish you for something you couldn’t control.”

“Master Loki, miss” she said while giving you a doubting look as you walked towards Loki’s room. 

You turned to her. “You know what? I’ll give the tray to him and tell him that I insisted. I promise you that you won’t get in trouble.”

She looked at you warily. “I don’t know, miss. I’m not sure that’ll work out.”

“Listen. I need to have a conversation with Lo-, Master Loki and I don’t think you should really be there to witness it,” you told the young servant. “Plus you won’t have to deal with delivering a late meal.”

She stopped walking and looked at you, considering what you were saying. “Trust me,” you pleaded. She handed you to the tray. “Please don’t get me into trouble,” she said, her eyes begging you.

You put your hand over your heart. “I promise.” She nodded at you before scurrying away down the hall, clearly relieved that she didn’t have to deal with giving him his meal late. It wasn’t until she disappeared you realized you had no idea where Loki’s room was. You scanned the hallway you were in, not recognizing where you were. You sighed. _Fuck me,_ you thought. 

You continued down the hall in the direction where the young girl had been walking until you saw another servant passing by. “Hey you!” you shouted. He looked over in shock. He was a fairly young boy, in his early teens you figured. He had tussled auburn hair and freckles across his nose. You ran over to him. 

“Do you mind telling me where Loki’s room is?” you asked politely.

He narrowed his eyes at you while eyeing your robes and the tray in your hand. “You are not from here,” he stated simply.

“Please just tell me where the room is,” you said, impatience beginning to take over. 

“I am not permitted to tell guests where the chambers of the royal family are located,” he answered. 

“I’m a friend of Loki’s,” you said. He didn’t believe you.

“If Master Loki wanted a guest to visit his chambers, he would have informed one of us.” 

“I’ll give you anything you want in return,” you hastily offered, trying to give him your sweetest smile.

“Anything?” he asked, raising his brows. 

“Yes, anything. Just tell me.”

“A kiss,” he said smugly, as if he just asked for something controversial. 

“Deal,” you said. “Now tell me where Loki’s room is.”

The young teenager quickly gave you the directions and you memorized his instructions. You gave him a big smile. 

“Thank you!” you said. You leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. When you pulled back, you noticed that he was blushing. You turned away and made your way towards Loki’s room. After about five minutes, you turned down a hall that was noticeably different from the majority of the halls in the palace. 

The golden walls of the hall were engraved in intricate designs, filled with expensive stones you could only dream that you would see in your lifetime. The doors in this hall were almost twice of the size of the other doors seen in the palace, clearly an indication that only people with real importance reside in these rooms. There were about ten different doors that lined the hall that all seemed ridiculously far apart, clearly giving those inside the rooms as much privacy they needed. You remembered the servant telling you that Loki’s room was the second one on the left.

You walked over and knocked on the door. You leaned onto the door frame with the tray propped up in your left hand. You heard angry footsteps approaching through the door. Loki swung it open with an irritated look on his face. “I have been waiting for over twenty minutes, what took –,” Loki paused when he saw you. You gave him a big smile. “Room service!” you announced. You quickly dropped your smile and shoved the tray into his chest, pushing by him and allowing yourself into his room. 

If you weren’t so angry at Loki you might have stopped to marvel at how extravagant his room was, but you were too overtaken with anger to notice. 

“You’re awfully brave for treating me like that,” Loki said irritably with a hint of anger. He put the tray of food on the nearby table. “It is a serious offence walking into a royal’s chambers without permission,” Loki said while glaring at you. You clearly made the wrong move. “I may have let you come close to me, but I still demand respect. Just because you live here now does not make you entitled. Do not forget that I am still your prince and you are just a lowlife scoundrel of Asgard.” A hint of disgust flickered over his face when he called you a lowlife.

Your anger further flared within you. How dare he talk to you in such a manner! Never before had it seemed that Loki cared about your status within the city, so it seemed as if these insults were coming from nowhere. You narrowed your eyes at him and balled your hands into fists. Loki chuckled darkly.

“You don’t like hearing that, do you?” Loki stepped towards you. “Well, then I’ve got some bad news for you. Even though you may live in our home and work with Odin’s elite, you will never hold a higher status than that of a peasant. You are a part of the filth of Asgard. You’re only useful to me for doing my dirty work and keeping my trace away. Nothing else. Never forget your place.” 

_What the hell is it with him?_ you wondered. What could have possibly triggered him to become such an ass towards you? Your breathing began to quicken in rage and you had to try your hardest from lunging at him right there and then. 

“It’s because of you that I was put in a humiliating place today, Loki” you spat at him. You took a few steps towards him, closing the distance between the two of you. You refused to allow his words to hurt you. You wanted to show him that you weren’t going to put up with his shit. “Oh, wait! I’m sorry! I meant my lovely, dearest, _Prince_ Loki,” you said sarcastically, giving him a mock curtesy.

Loki’s eyes darkened and you saw his features to turn to one of anger. “You will not mock me in such a manner,” he said through his teeth. You saw his hands twitch towards you and that they were now glowing a faint green. 

“I will do as please,” you said confidently. You then looked at him with fake confusion. “You know what I just realized? For someone who wants nothing to do with the filth and lowlifes of the city, you sure did express a lot of interest in me. And don’t you say for a second that it was because I could do your dirty work for you. I will also not stand here and take your insults. You may have a higher social status but that does not mean that you’re a better person than me. You may believe that _peasants_ crave submission but I do not and I refuse to submit to the likes of you.”

You saw Loki’s features turn more livid the more you spoke. A part of you told you to stop talking, but you continued anyways. “You have kept me in the dark long enough, Loki. You put a lot of innocent people at risk today and it’s because of your mystery involvement with Eirith that one of his men thought it okay to put his hands on me. I will no longer be a part of your mystery plans, Loki. Any possible friendship, that I’ll even bet you’ll claim was never there, is now long gone. So go ahead. Put me back in that cell. I want nothing to do with you and your plans after what has happened today.”

You always knew you weren’t the hero. Hell, you had no desire to be one. But even you had your limits. Loki’s right hand twitched again and you suddenly heard a table being knocked down and glass smashing to the floor. You weren’t surprised that you were clearly pissing him off and that he was starting to take it out on something. However, you _were_ surprised that he hadn’t taken it out directly on you. 

“Enjoy your dinner,” you snarled at him. You tried to walk around him but he blocked you with his arm. 

“You will severely regret talking to me such a manner. For not respecting your prince,” Loki said in a low and dark tone. 

“I only give respect to those who deserve it,” you retorted, giving him a dirty look. You shoved his arm out of your way and tried to leave once again but he grabbed your shoulder and shoved you against the wall. He was breathing hard and the green glow was now radiating off his entire body. He kept both his hands on your shoulders, locking you against the wall. You stared confidently back into his enraged eyes, daring him to make another move. 

You stayed pinned against the wall for several minutes before he gradually released the pressure on your shoulders, the green glow steadily fading away. Though he was still clearly angry, he slowly began to control his temper. He gave you final push into the wall before letting go of your shoulders and walking away. 

“Leave,” he spat you, not bothering to look at you. 

You swung open his door and slammed it hard behind you.


	22. Chapter 22

You returned to your room, your mind and body buzzing from the altercation you had just had with Loki. As much as you had thick skin and were able to handle Loki’s words back in his room, they were now starting to sting. _Why did I ever feel any kind of sympathy towards him?_ you angrily thought. You felt stupid for thinking that there was any kind of connection between the two of you. The kisses that you two had shared were all part of his manipulation. It was all a lie on his behalf. He wanted you to feel a certain way and he succeeded. You felt stupid for even thinking that he could actually view you in that way. 

You slammed the door of your room closed and fell face first onto your bed. You thought back to how he called you nothing more than filth, a lowlife. _Don’t let him get to you,_ you told yourself. _He’s just bitter that he won’t have a throne to himself. He’s bitter that his brother is favored. He’s bitter that I’ve been so well-received with everyone in the palace._

You heard a gentle knock on the door. “Come in,” you mumbled into your duvet. The door opened and quiet footsteps began walking towards you. 

“Miss? Is everything all right? I heard your door slam,” Aidrith’s soft voice asked. 

You sat up and saw Aidrith’s caring yet concerned face. You gave her a small smile. 

“What’s your experience with Loki?” you asked curiously.

A sudden realization dawned on her. “Ah,” was all she said. She gestured to the empty spot next to you. “May I?”

You nodded and patted the bed next to you. She sat down, her feet dangling off the bed. “I’ve never personally served Master Loki, but I do know that he has a bit of temper. Many of my friends here have unfortunately been on the receiving end of it. It’s not common that someone will actually become hurt, but it has happened in the past. He’s very particular on status and your role within the palace. Pardon me for speaking ill of my prince, but he seems to abuse what power he does has.” Aidrith paused. “Has Master Loki done something to upset you, miss?”

You gave her a reassuring smile. “He just decided to put a boundary between us, that’s all.”

Aidrith nodded her head, not bothering to question you further. “Would you like me to draw you a bath, miss?”

“Thank would be lovely, thank you.”

Aidrith gave you a smile before slipping off the bed and walking towards the bathroom. You heard water begin to run and splash against the tub. You got up and started the process of unbuckling your belts and weapons. You were suddenly reminded of the day’s earlier events that occurred in the closest with Knolf or whatever his name was. You shivered. “Scum,” you muttered.

“What’s that, miss?” Aidrith asked.

You spun around. You hadn’t even realized she left the bathroom. “Sorry, just talking to myself.”  
Aidrith gave you a gentle smile. “Understandable, miss. Oh! I’ve been meaning to ask you. What are planning on wearing to the ball?”

Your hands stilled on one of your buckles. “Ball?” you asked, surprised. This was the first you’ve heard anything about a ball occurring. “Since when is there going to be a ball?”

She giggled. “Since always, silly! It’ll be Queen Frigga birthday!”

You gave her a confused look. “Why is this first I’m hearing of this?”

Aidrith simply shrugged. “You’ve been busy, I suppose. It’s all the servants have been talking about! It’ll be quite the party! People from all different worlds and villages will be coming! It isn’t that surprising though considering how much Queen Frigga is loved. It’s a perfect time of peace between people!” Aidrith’s face turned into a dream-like wonder. “I would love to be formally invited to a ball like this. Dancing, food, music, and handsome princes from all over! It’s like the stuff you only read in books.” She then seemed to snap out of her daydreaming. “Oh, I’m rambling, aren’t I miss? Pardon me.”

You laughed. “It’s perfectly fine. You’re more than welcome to take my place.”

“If only, miss. Trust me, you’ll want to attend this event. Who knows what could happen? Perhaps you may meet a future suitor!” Aidrith waved her hand. “I should stop talking, your bath is getting cold! Into the tub you go!” she said while pushing you towards the bathroom. 

While in the tub, you scrubbed your body raw, particularly your neck where Knolf’s disgusting tongue had touched you. You washed away all traces of that event, thankful that nothing serious had actually occurred. You scrubbed the event into the past. When you exited the bathroom wrapped in a towel, you saw that Aidrith had laid out a nightgown for you. You quickly slipped into it and climbed into bed.

No matter how much you tried, you couldn’t fall asleep. Your mind kept replaying the moment that you had shared with Loki in the nook and the way his touch seemed to burn through your skin. How it seemed like he genuinely desired you at the moment. You thought back to the way he responded to your touch and how it caused you to feel so warm and wanted. 

You then would keep replaying the altercation in his room and how he pulled a complete one-eighty on you. He insulted you and deemed you worthless. You had instigated his temper a bit, yes, but it was his decision to use the words he did.

A sudden thought dawned on you. What if he didn’t really mean his words? Could he possibly feel guilty for what almost happened to you and that it was because of his involvement with Eirith you had almost been hurt? But why would that cause him to talk to you the way he did? You figured that if Loki was already in a bad mood after what occurred between him and Odin, you barging in his room probably didn’t help anything.

Your thoughts continued to go in circles, trying to figure out Loki’s true feelings. You weren’t sure how long it took, but you eventually fell asleep. 

~

You couldn’t believe what you were about to do. _I should not be doing this,_ you thought to yourself. _He doesn’t deserve this._

The guards that were on either side of you opened the giant gold doors that lead into King Odin’s throne room. You were then escorted down the absurdly long room where Odin was sitting, eyeing you. You remembered how nervous you felt the last time you were escorted into this room. How you were certain that you would be sentenced years in the dungeons. When you finally reached the king, you got down on one knee and bowed your head. 

“I trust that you are feeling better after what occurred yesterday?” Odin said to you.

“Yes, your majesty. I’m completely fine,” you genuinely answered. 

“That’s good to hear. You have requested to see me?” Odin asked you.

“Yes, your majesty. I wish to speak on your son, Prince Loki’s behalf.” You peeked up through your lashes at the king. His expression remained stern. 

“Has Loki had any involvement in you coming here today?”

“No, your majesty. I’m here completely on my own will. Prince Loki does not even know that I am seeing you.”

“And what would you like to say on my son’s behalf?”

You took a deep breath before speaking. _Loki’s going to owe me big time._ “Your majesty, Loki had no involvement in yesterday’s events. I fully realize that given your son’s past, he would be a prime suspect in causing it, but I can honestly tell you that he is innocent. I was with him the entirety of yesterday but when the intruders arrived, Loki and I parted ways. I ran to aid Thor and Hogun while Loki went to investigate what was happening. When I ran off to get a runner, I found Loki in a nearby hall and he had just knocked out the man I was after. He is just as concerned as you are with who could have done this to his home,” you finished, hoping that Odin was buying your lie.

While you had been talking, Odin watched you carefully causing you to become nervous a few times, afraid that he was able to tell that you weren’t telling the truth. 

“Your concern for my son’s innocence is quite intriguing. Why do you feel the need to come up with an alibi for him?”

 _Why the hell are you doing this?_ “Because I do not wish for Loki to be wrongfully punished for something he did not do,” you lied.

“I’m afraid to tell you that your attempt is worthless. You are dismissed,” Odin blatantly told you. 

Guards began to walk towards you and you stood. “You’re not going to tell me why?”

“I already have Loki lying to my face, I don’t need you to do that for him.” You stood there in shock as the guards hovered behind you, ready to force you out if you didn’t comply with Odin’s orders. 

“Where does that leave us?” you asked hurriedly. You began to slightly panic that Odin would punish you for lying to him. 

“You have proved multiple times that you are a valuable member of my forces, especially with Sif at Vanaheim. So, I will be merciful and I’ll look at your attempt at getting my son out of trouble as you extending your alliance as a result of empathy. Though I should warn you to not make a habit of defending him. It will get you nowhere.”

“What are you going to do with Loki?”

“That’s between me and him,” was all Odin answered. He gestured his hand at the guards to take you away. They grabbed your arms and escorted you out of the throne room. Your attempt had backfired on you. Even though Odin hadn’t punished you for lying, he surely now had to be suspicious of any partnership you might have with Loki due to your desire of speaking on his defense. Now you needed to prove to Odin once again that you were fully committed to being on his side and not Loki’s. Question is now, how are you going to do that?

~

Three days passed quickly. Hogun had returned your hidden blades fully repaired after your conversation with Odin. While you were strapping them back on, he thanked you for the opportunity to examine and test them out. He also mentioned that he would like another chance to use them again and for you to teach him some maneuvers. You gave him a vague ‘sometime in the future’ as an answer. 

Sif had finally been released from the infirmary and had rejoined the rest of the group for training sessions. You spent the entire three days training with Hogun, Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg. It seemed as if Fandral had given up on pursuing you, but you would still occasionally catch him staring at you. You were slightly worried about running into Loki after your altercation but it hadn’t been a problem, seeing as Loki was nowhere to be found. In fact, both Thor and Loki had mysteriously disappeared during those three days. You hadn’t questioned it until one of your breaks.

“I’ve noticed that Thor and Loki have been missing. Where are they?” you asked.

Hogun answered you. “Odin sent them out on some mystery mission. We were never filled in.”

“Punishment for what happened the other day would be my guess,” Fandral added. “Thor must be babysitting him for whatever Loki was assigned.”

“I thought it was never proven Loki had anything to do with the palace’s invasion?” you said. 

“It wasn’t,” Fandral answered. “Considering that Odin didn’t have any actual evidence besides Loki’s record, most likely Loki avoided serious punishment by striking a deal with Odin. A way to reinforce his allegiance by doing political work for him. It wouldn’t be the first time this has happened. We seem to forget that Loki has quite the slick tongue.”

“They sure do have interesting relationship,” Sif added.

And that was last you spoke of Loki. You kept him off your mind by training vigorously with the others as well as by yourself, long after everyone else had left. You made to exhaust yourself enough that by the time you made it back to your room, you could just collapse on your bed and fall right asleep.

The closer the ball’s date became, the more the palace became busier. Servants were working like madmen to prepare for the Queen’s birthday. Everything had to be in a particular order and had to consist of only the finest quality food and decorations. You would never have thought the palace could become even more extravagant than it already was, until you saw how every day the palace would become a little bit more transformed. 

It was the night before the ball and you were lounging on your bed when Aidrith and Naelynn came to your room.

“Hello, miss!” they greeted you, curtseying. You sat up and eyed them, wondering why they were there. 

“Do you need my assistance for anything?” you asked warily.

Aidrith giggled. “We need to only ask you a question, miss!”

“And what would that be?”

Naelynn spoke up. “Queen Frigga has just informed us that we may make you a dress for tomorrow, miss.”

“But I have plenty to choose from my closet.”

Aidrith waved her hand dismissively. “Those won’t do for tomorrow. There hasn’t been a ball like this in quite some time, especially with the guests that will be arriving tomorrow. Birthdays tend to stay small here but this year they’re really celebrating.”

“I don’t want you two to go to the trouble,” you tried to tell them, but they weren’t having any of it.

“There is no worry, miss,” Naelynn said. “Both Queen Frigga and Sif’s dresses are being made tonight as well. So there’s no need to feel guilty.”

“We really enjoy sewing too, miss! And I’m really excited to make you something custom, something that’ll really make you stand out! So first things first. What color would you like your dress to be?”

You were quiet for a moment before giving them a sly smile.

"Green," you answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little sorry that this is such a transitional chapter, but it's necessary. I PROMISE! :) The payoff will be worth it.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your dress was inspired by this gown right here: (only real difference is that it would obviously be green and there isn't a train)
> 
> http://image.dhgate.com/albu_914426884_00-1.0x0/julie-vino-2014-backless-wedding-dresses.jpg
> 
> Enjoy the next two chapters ;)

The next morning you were lightly shaken awake, your name being repeatedly whispered in your ear. You groaned and turned over, squinting at whoever had awoken you. You saw Naelynn’s blurry face leaning over you, looking satisfied that you had finally opened your eyes. 

“Good morning, miss!” Naelynn whispered.

“Morning,” you mumbled back. You propped yourself onto your elbows and looked out the window to try and decipher what time it was. Sunlight was already shining through your windows and you wondered how long you slept for.

“What time is it?” you mumbled while rubbing your eyes.

“It’s mid-morning, miss. I’ve brought you breakfast today along with your dress.”

You immediately looked over to the edge of your bed and saw a clump of green fabric that Naelynn must have laid down when she entered.

“Am I needed for anything today?” you asked.

“Just your attendance at the ball. You have most of the day just to relax. Think of it as a day off!” You flipped the sheets off of yourself and walked towards the silver tray that Naelynn had prepared for you. You gave her your thanks as you sat down. 

“I will be busy finishing preparations for tonight, but Aidrith will be available to help you get into your dress whenever you’re ready.”

You nodded your head and Naelynn left your room. You slowly ate your breakfast that consisted of porridge and fruit, savoring every bite to take up as much time as possible. When you finished, you looked around the room wondering what you were supposed to do for the day. You wanted to go to the equipment room and train but you figured that probably wasn’t what Naelynn meant by relax. You walked over to your belt of weapons and removed a throwing knife that you twirled between your fingers while you wandered aimlessly around your room, trying to come up with something to do. 

You spent the entire day doing absolutely nothing and you felt bored out of your mind. You alternated between tossing your knife in the air, playing roulette with your fingers, and reading a random book that you pulled off your shelf. Time seemed to pass by slowly as you waited to get ready. You would occasionally pass by the intimidating green dress that was laid out on your bed but you would try your best to ignore it. When mid-afternoon finally rolled around, you exited your room and knocked on Aidrith and Naelynn’s door.

Aidrith opened the door with a big grin on her face.

“Are you ready to get ready, miss?!” Aidrith excitedly asked. 

You nodded your head and she enthusiastically clapped her hands. She led you back to your room chatting rapidly. 

“We worked really hard on your dress, miss. It was the most fun and creative we’ve gotten to be in ages! I know that you will look absolutely stunning! We weren’t really sure about the fabric at first, but after about an hour of debating we decided to use it and I’m really glad we did. It looks really nice on the mannequin but I can only imagine what it will look like on you!” Aidrith’s voice became slightly muffled towards the end when she went into your bathroom and drew you another bath. She came back out with a big grin.

“Only a quick bath this time, miss! While you’re in there I’ll get everything prepared!” You obliged in her orders and quickly washed yourself. When you exited the bathroom, you saw Aidrith had clumped the dress in her hands into a circle.

“Step in,” she ordered. You did as you were told and Aidrith slowly brought the dress over your body. When she slipped the high collar around your neck, you noticed that your back felt awfully chilly. You twisted your body to look at your back and you saw that the dress was both completely backless and sleeveless. Aidrith gently buttoned the few buttons that were by your neck and straightened out a few parts of the skirt that had become twisted. She tightened, pulled, and adjusted until it fit every single curve of your body perfectly. You felt her fingers pull away as she stepped back. She gave a slight gasp.

“Oh, miss. This is gorgeous. You will look absolutely exquisite tonight!” She gave a small giggle. “Perhaps you may catch the eye of a noble!”

You walked over the full length mirror to check out your dress. When you saw your reflection, even you were stunned. The dress that you had worn to dinner what seemed like ages ago looked like a rag compared to what your body was wrapped in. Your bodice was covered in an expensive lace that took the shape of different flowers and leaves that just hinted at the skin underneath. Your waist was wrapped in a golden belt that was also wrapped around the high collar of your choker neck line. The skirt flowed elegantly around your legs with two slits had been placed above your thighs, allowing them to peek through the fabric when you moved a certain way. The deep green of the dress complimented beautifully against your skin color and you noticed that small golden beads had been sewed into the dress as well, reflecting the room’s light. 

You twisted around and admired the back. The curve of your spine and your shoulder blades were tastefully showcased. The waist of the dress was high enough that you weren’t showing too much but you were definitely bare. You continue to admire the dress from all angles. You would never have thought that you would ever find yourself enjoying wearing a dress this much. And yet here you were, falling in love with this gown, never wanting to take it off, feeling completely sexy and confident. 

You saw Aidrith’s reflection appear next to your own as she walked up behind you. The two of you continued to admire the dress in the mirror. 

“I did a good job,” Aidrith whispered and you couldn’t help but laugh. 

“This is absolutely perfect, Aidrith. I don’t know how you did this in one night or made one that I would actually enjoy wearing, but I’m happy you did. Thank you,” you said. 

Aidrith gently blew on her fingers. “I’ve got magic fingers,” she said in a joking arrogance. She gave you a big smile. “We need to finish getting the rest of you ready, miss!”

Aidrith expertly did your hair in soft curls, pinning it up in a way that it didn’t cover up your dress. She also did your makeup, something you really weren’t used to, but she did it in a way that really enhanced your facial features. The faint dark circles underneath your eyes had disappeared and your cheekbones were gorgeous. The eyeliner and shadow that she had placed on your eyes was the perfect amount, complimenting your eye color and making them really stand out. You couldn’t help but stare at the way you looked. You were never a vain person, but even you had to admit, you looked good. 

The girl staring back you in the mirror was definitely you, but you still couldn’t completely recognize yourself. 

“There’s a sparkle in your eye now, miss,” Aidrith gently said next to your ear. _Yes. There is, isn’t there?_ She giggled. “You look like a princess!”

You really did. You looked like you came from a family with a lot of money and power.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, miss, but I am curious. Why green? It’s a lovely choice and it looks amazing against your skin, but what made you choose it?”

You gave Aidrith a smile. “To prove a point,” you answered.

~

A half hour later you asked Aidrith if she could escort you to where the ball was being hosted. Aidrith accepted your offer graciously and walked beside you to one of the main halls of the palace. When you came close enough to hear the chatter of the guests that had already arrived, you started to get a little nervous. Would you fit in with these groups of people? Would you stand out horrendously? What were you supposed to do if no one wanted to mingle? What if you didn’t know what the right thing to say was? The people that were coming to this ball were not the people you associated with. You were always an opposing force to them not an ally. 

When you arrived, the giant hall that was hosting the party was breathtaking. There were tables upon tables filled to the brim with extravagant food and wines. Sculptures you’ve never seen before lined the walls around the room and there was a fountain was located right in the center, the sound of running water mixing in with the mingling of the guests. Beautiful, giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling giving the room a faint golden hue as it reflected off of the golden walls. Men and women of all ages were attending, all of them obviously from money. Noblemen and women, princes and princesses, kings and queens, gods and goddesses from all over had come to celebrate Frigga’s birthday. You noticed that all the women were draped in lavish gowns and expensive jewels indicating that you certainly hadn’t overdressed.

Aidrith left you by the door, wishing you good luck and to have fun before turning around to go back to her quarters. You slowly entered into the room, wondering how you were supposed to find a familiar face in a crowd this large. You weaved through the people, continually scanning all the unfamiliar faces as you made your way towards one of the tables filled with food. When you reached the giant banquet, you grabbed a roll of bread and started to nibble at it, discomfort slowly overtaking you due to your solitude. You suddenly spotted a familiar blonde not too far away, mingling with a couple. Thor. If he were here, that would also mean that Loki had returned as well. You continued to stand by the food until a familiar, happy voice boomed your name.

Volstagg merrily walked towards you, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol that he had been consuming. “Why am I not surprised to see m’lady by the food table?” When he stopped next to you his eyes widened and he roared out a laugh. “I’m sorry, m’lady. I mistook you for someone else I know. I’ll be on my way now!” Volstagg pretended to turn around.

“Ha ha,” you sarcastically laughed, rolling your eyes at him. Volstagg gave you a big grin. “I would hide from Fandral if I were you, m’lady. Once he sees you tonight, there’ll be no getting rid of him.” And as if Volstagg had just summoned him, Fandral appeared, holding a goblet in his hand. 

“Ah, Volstagg there you are! I’ve been looking all over you. You wouldn’t believe who I was just talking to! Remember Lofn? I told her to keep an eye out for someone for you!” Fandral winked at Volstagg. He then looked over at you. “It looks like she already has found you someone! Hello there, m’lady. I’m Fandral the Dashing,” Fandral said, trying to give you an alluring smile while taking your hand and kissing the back of it.

Volstagg bellowed out another loud laugh and you raised your brows at Fandral. “Are you being serious right now?” you asked. You genuinely had no idea if he was playing you or sincerely didn’t recognize you. When Fandral heard you speak he froze and his eyes widened.

“Is that really you, m’lady?” He looked over at Volstagg with a shocked expression which made Volstagg only laugh more. 

“Is Loki playing a trick on me?” Fandral eyed you warily. “All right, Loki. You can cut it out now,” he said to you.

“Should I be taking this as a compliment?” you asked him. You had no idea whether or not you should be flattered or angry at him. 

“What is Loki doing?” Thor all of sudden entered the conversation. He threw his arms over Fandral and Volstagg’s shoulders, a big, slightly drunk grin overtaking his face. Thor then looked over at you and eyed you up and down, looking almost impressed. He gave you an approving smile. “You look quite beautiful tonight, m’lady,” Thor complimented. He then turned to Volstagg and started a conversation with him while Fandral moved to stand next to you.

“You look truly exquisite tonight, m’lady,” Fandral whispered in your ear. “Any man that gets to dance with you tonight would truly be the luckiest man here.”

You stood there for a few minutes making polite conversation with Fandral when you heard his voice. “Thor, mother wishes to speak with –,” Loki stopped talking when his eyes landed on you. You sighed dramatically and turned to Fandral, draping your arms across his shoulder and resting your chin on top your hands. You pretended that you hadn’t noticed Loki arrive. 

“I feel like I don’t fit in here, Fandral. I am nothing but a lowlife scoundrel of Asgard after all,” you said, using Loki’s exact words, pretending to sound morose. “I just don’t belong with the people of your caliber.”

Fandral looked at you in slight shock. “Never say such words, m’lady! Where is this coming from?”

You sighed and peeked over at Loki and said directly towards him, “I’m not sure. The feeling just all of sudden came upon me.” Loki kept his face smooth and expressionless as he turned to Thor and quietly spoke in his ear. Thor nodded in return and gave the group a smile.

“If you’ll pardon me,” he said before leaving. 

“Fandral, would mind escorting me to center of the floor. I would love to share a dance with you tonight,” you said, attempting to sound alluring. 

Fandral looked surprised at your sudden outreach towards him, but he didn’t question it. 

“It would be an honor, m’lady,” Fandral replied. He offered you his elbow and you graciously took it. While walking away, you gave Loki a small smirk but he still kept his face expressionless. 

When you reached the center of the floor, you joined all the other couples that had linked together. You put your left hand on Fandral’s shoulder and clasped your right hand with his. Fandral put his right hand a little too low on your back, but you allowed him to keep it there in case Loki were to look upon you. However, you did make sure to keep as much distance between the two of you best you could. 

“What brought this on all of a sudden?” Fandral asked you curiously, giving you a small smile. 

“Just wanted to share a dance with you, that’s all,” you answered peacefully. 

“Well, I certainly won’t complain, m’lady,” Fandral replied. The song was halfway over when you looked over to your right and nearly did a double take. You noticed that Loki and Freyja had joined together and were dancing gracefully around you and Fandral. _You’re kidding me._ You couldn’t say that were that surprised to see that Freyja was attending. You tried your best to ignore the two but you couldn’t help but occasionally peek over at them. Freyja, of course, looked absolutely breathtaking and you wondered who initiated the dance first. You swallowed your jealousy and concentrated on your dance with Fandral. 

When the song had finished Freyja spotted you and Fandral and waved. She walked over to the two of you, holding Loki’s arm. 

“Greetings, Fandral! It’s a pleasure to see you,” Freyja said. She then looked over at you and skimmed her eyes over your dress, her nose slightly wrinkling. “Well, well. Aren’t you that mysterious assassin that was in Vanaheim a while back? I barley recognize you. You sure do clean up well,” she said as a backhanded compliment, her tone meant to insult you. _Apparently Loki found the right dance partner,_ you thought to yourself. 

“It’s too bad that perfect body of yours doesn’t make up for your terrible memory,” you replied back, mimicking her bitchy tone. 

Freyja opened her mouth in slight shock and Loki snorted. She quickly regained her composure, giving you a false smile.

“At least I don’t feel the need to cover my looks with a hood.”

 _This bitch._ “If I were to throw a stick, would you go and fetch it?”

“All right ladies, that’s quite enough,” Fandral interrupted.

“We were just having a little fun, weren’t we? Would you mind trading partners?” she asked you. “I would love to catch up with Fandral.”

“He’s all yours,” you replied. 

Freyja gave you a fake polite smile before taking Fandral’s extended hand. You watched them get into position not wanting to turn around and face Loki alone. When you did turn, he sighed and extended his hand towards you, not even bothering to look at you. You hesitated for a moment before sliding your hand into his, causing a small shiver to travel up your arm and to your shoulder. Your palms began to tingle. 

You lightly placed your hand on Loki’s shoulder while he laced his long fingers within your own. Loki gently placed his cool hand on your back, causing small goosebumps to form across your skin. He pulled you rather close, your chests nearly touching as Loki began to lead you as the next song began to play. 

You confidently looked Loki in his eyes. “I’m surprised that a person of your status would ever be seen dancing in public with a woman such as me, Prince Loki,” you said, giving him a tone of false confusion. He didn’t reply back to your comment as you continued to look at him, awaiting for an answer. 

“I hope you realize that I sincerely meant what I said the other day,” you said quietly so that only Loki could hear you. “Any partnership between us is gone. I have no interest in working or being with you.”

Loki narrowed his eyes down at you. “Says the woman who is wearing my colors tonight,” Loki replied back smoothly. 

“I just so happen to like this color,” you retorted. “It has nothing to do with you.”

“Interesting. You say that you no longer desire any affiliation with me and yet you felt the need to approach Odin on my behalf and come up with an alibi for me?” Loki questioned you, giving you a smug expression.

“My last favor towards you,” you answered. “Leave on a good note rather than a sour one.”

“Then why do you insist on trying to make me jealous? You shouldn’t do that Fandral. Even I’m not that cruel.”

“What happens between me and Fandral is our business.” You paused. “It’s no different than what you just did with Freyja.”

“Ah, but your wrong. She approached me. I don’t need to resort to the sin of envy to get someone to feel regret.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t. You would just blatantly throw it in their faces, wouldn’t you?”

“Now that doesn’t sound like me. I do believe that I would be a little smarter than that.”

“Apparently not, judging by your actions the other night. Tell me if you agree, _my dearest prince_ , you surely don’t let your emotions get the better of you and you say words that you don’t entirely mean.”

“I would have to disagree.”

“Oh? So I _am_ nothing but a peasant in your eyes, then?”

“I would again have to disagree.”

“Then tell me. Right here, right now. How do you truly view me?”

The song ended and everyone bowed and curtsied to their partners except for you and Loki. He just simply took a step back. 

“Why would it matter? Seeing as we are no longer working together?” He gave you a slight bow before turning around and walking through the crowd, disappearing quickly in the sea of heads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold onto your butts, the next chapter is going to be a doozy!
> 
> Fun Fact Time! The woman Fandral mentioned, Lofn, is the goddess of marriage. :)


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally had this chapter split into two but I thought it would be too mean to end it were I had it, so I combined it into one big chapter. Which means we've got a new record for longest chapter! Woo!

You huffed out a breath. _This man,_ you angrily thought. 

“Scared him off in one dance I see,” you heard Freyja’s voice behind you. You completely ignored her, walking away before you could do something you would later regret. You weaved in between the people going towards one of the banquet tables. 

“Wine, please,” you said to one of the servants. He nodded and quickly poured your drink in a goblet and handed it to you. You muttered him a thanks as you tilted your head back and chugged the whole thing down inelegantly. You handed the goblet back to the servant to be refilled and he raised his brows at you. You narrowed your eyes back at him. He filled it back up wordlessly and gave it to you. 

You grabbed it a little too forceful. “Don’t judge me,” you muttered before taking another drink, this time much slower. You heard a chuckle come from next to you. You looked over and nearly spit your drink back into the chalice.

“A woman who can hold her alcohol I see,” a handsome stranger said to you. He turned to the servant. “I’ll have what she’s having.” He looked over at you and gave you a big, white smile. You turned your head, blushing, and continued to sip from your drink. The man standing next to you was absolutely gorgeous. He had blonde hair that was tapered on the sides with it long and swept up on top that was so pale, it almost looked white. His eyes were a light, icy blue that were framed with dark lashes. When he received his drink, he silently toasted to you by gesturing with his goblet. You returned the motion and the two of you drank from your goblets. 

He flashed you another smile. “Pardon me, m’lady. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before. My name is Máni,” he said, taking your hand and kissing the back of it. 

“Pleasure,” you said, giving your name in return. He raised a perfect brow at you.

“An unusual name. Where are you from? Midgard?”

“No,” you answered politely. “I’m not from Asgard either and that’s all I will say. You’re lucky I even gave you my name.”

He gave you a roguish look. “Is that so? So then what will it take to learn more?”

A light pink began to travel up your neck. “To not push your luck,” you answered, taking another drink. 

“Ouch. I’m wounded, m’lady,” Máni said, putting his hand on his chest and pretending to look hurt. “So how do you know her majesty, Queen Frigga?”

“I work for King Odin,” you answered.

“Really? What is it that you perform?”

“Whatever he needs me to do.”

“Interesting. So you work with Sif and Volstagg?”

“Yes,” you answered simply. 

“I would never have a guessed that a lady such as yourself would be a force to be reckoned with. How did you come to work with Odin?”

“Long story,” you said, taking another drink. 

“I’ve got time,” he replied, giving you a smile. Your mind suddenly flashed to Loki.

“You’re very kind and handsome, Máni, but I’m sorry to say that I’m not interested. I prefer to keep to myself,” you rejected. “I feel like your tastes would be better suited for someone more like Freyja.”

Máni chuckled. “She is quite the beauty, but her personality can become a little too much to handle. You’re rather mysterious and I would love to figure you out.” You were starting to get annoyed with everyone desiring to solve you as if you were a puzzle for just anyone. 

“There’s only one person who is allowed to ‘figure me out,’” you replied. You placed your empty goblet on the table. “Excuse me,” you said, walking away from Máni. You saw two giant glass doors that led to a balcony and you made that your objective. 

As soon as the cold air washed over your skin and you inhaled it, you immediately felt better. The heat that had accumulated on your neck and cheeks began to fade and you began to cool down. You reached the edge and put your hands on the railing. _What is it with me?_ you thought. You knew if Máni had approached you a few weeks ago so interested, you probably wouldn’t have turned him down so blatantly. It was because of Loki constantly popping up in your head that prevented you from going with him. _Why should it matter? Why is he still affecting my decisions? Damn him._

You hung your head. _Why am I so attached to him? Why do I feel this desire towards him? He’s been nothing but covert and evasive. He’s called me a lowlife and filth and yet I still want to be in his presence for whatever reason. What is wrong with me?_

You turned your head and saw that you weren’t alone. There was a couple standing on the other side of the balcony, the man’s arms wrapped around the woman’s stomach, whispering something in her ear, causing her to giggle. You sighed and looked out at the sparling lights of the city of Asgard. 

_Maybe I shouldn’t fight it so much. Maybe I should go with what I feel._ You were trained to be as emotionless as possible when it came to people. If you became too attached to life and a person’s value, the harder it would be to be an assassin. You learned to turn off a lot of your natural emotions or else nothing would be accomplished. The last time you ignored that rule for someone else, your heart had been ripped into two. Ever since then, you’ve vowed to never feel that way towards another person, but now you were starting to find the idea harder and harder. 

You knew how Loki worked and you were terrified that he would break your heart on purpose. Were you really willing to take the risk? Were you ready to let down your wall and let him in? A part of you was screaming ‘Yes!’ while the other screamed, ‘No! Don’t do it!’ 

_What am I absolutely sure of?_ you wondered. _I am physically attracted to Loki. I find his personality amusing and interesting. I admire how he’s intelligent and smooth with his words. He doesn’t conform to Odin and Thor’s values. Though he has his flaws and faults, so does everyone._

You knew he had no control of what Eirith’s man would try to do to you. You knew he didn’t become involved with Eirith for one of them to try and rape you. Though you were frustrated with him, you understood why he was hesitant to let you into all the details of whatever he’s planning. You knew what it was like to be hesitant of where you put your trust. You looked back over at the couple, feeling a little jealous at their intimacy. _What if I just tried?_

“It’s rude to stare at people,” you heard Loki say behind you. 

“I wasn’t staring,” you retorted. 

“Mhm,” was all Loki said, standing next you, looking out over the city. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. _Here we go,_ you thought.

“I want to apologize for my quick response. I was thinking out of anger. If I didn’t fuck up things too much, I would like to join your side again.” You held your breath as you awaited Loki’s answer. He kept quiet and you became nervous. _What if he says no? Where will that leave me?_

Loki let out a deep chuckle. “ _Why_ do you want to rejoin my side?” 

You turned to him. _How much to I want admit?_ “You’re not the only person who can find people intriguing, Loki. I want to figure you out as well.”

“Is that so?” Loki replied, still looking out at the horizon, his face thinking in concentration. 

“And I’m curious as to what you’re planning on doing,” you added. “And I want in.”

Loki looked over at you and smirked. “What makes you think I’ll just accept you back?”

“The same way I’m going to ignore your comments from the other night,” you responded. Loki didn’t reply. He just turned his head back forward, looking out at the city in thought. 

After a few seconds, Loki sighed lightly. “You’re so frustrating,” he muttered.

You couldn’t help but snort. Loki looked over at you, questioning. “Speak for yourself,” you said to him.

Loki watched your expression carefully for a few moments before extending his hand towards you, a mischievous look forming on his face. You eyed his hand warily for a second before grasping it with your own, electricity seeming to never to falter going up your arm every time you made contact. “Welcome back,” Loki said with a smirk. His grip suddenly became a little tighter and he tugged your arm, pulling you closer. “You still mustn’t forget your place,” Loki warned darkly in your ear. Before you could respond, Thor’s voice boomed across the balcony, causing you to jump and pull away from Loki.

“Brother! Why are you out here? You should be celebrating mother’s birthday with everyone else!” Thor said, slightly more intoxicated since the last time you saw him. 

“I only stepped out for a moment,” Loki replied irritably. 

“Well come back in! People wish to talk to you.” Thor turned back around and returned to inside of the palace. Loki sighed before following suit with you trailing behind him. When you made it back inside of the warmth of the palace, Loki turned to you. “Stay by my side,” he ordered. Your immediate instinct was to question him, but the last thing you wanted was an altercation between the two of you in front of everyone. Plus, you didn’t know what else you were going to do if you said no, so you obeyed silently. 

Loki looked slightly surprised when you actually did what he told you to do, but he quickly just nodded his head, approving. Loki’s hand ghosted on your lower back as he made his rounds, mingling politely to people, wooing them all over easily. You kept silent for the most part, speaking when only directly spoken to. Most people just ignored you, seeing as you weren’t royalty or a goddess of some sort, which made you slightly relieved. The less talking you had to do, the better. One woman however, did become a little nosey with your business.

“Ah, Prince Loki! It’s been quite a while since we’ve last spoken,” a much older woman approached the two of you. She had grey hair that was expertly stylized and was draped in expensive jewels. 

“It’s a pleasure to see you again Duchess Siari,” Loki said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. She let out an unattractive squeal. “Still the charmer, I see,” she replied. “Haven’t been getting into trouble lately, have you?” 

“Not of lately,” Loki lied smoothly.

“Good boy,” she said, patting him on the hand.

Her eyes flickered over to you, realizing that there was another person with Loki. She eyed you up and down and then looked back over to Loki.

“You have quite the beautiful wife, Prince Loki. When did you get married?” she asked. You accidently let out a snort and quickly apologized. 

“She is not my wife,” Loki replied with small smile. “We are simply friends.”

Siari raised her brows. “You’re not even courting her, Prince Loki? May I ask why not? Is she currently courting another person?”

You were about to respond when Loki interrupted, a big smile overtaking his face. “It just so happen that she is. A man by the name of Tir, if I remember correctly.” Loki looked over at you with an expression of false confusion. Your cheeks became red and you wanted to hit Loki right there and then.

“That’s lovely, dear. What does Tir do? Is he here tonight?” Siari asked you. “He is not here, no,” you responded. 

“Tir is very protective of his lady, especially when filled with alcohol, isn’t that right?” Loki asked you. Siari looked at you in slight shock. “We’re slowly working on it,” you said while glaring at Loki. 

“I wish you the best of luck with that,” the old woman replied, sincere. 

“Thank you,” you said with fake appreciation. 

When you and Loki turned away, you smacked him hard against his arm which didn’t even faze him. “What the hell was that?” you asked.

He gave you a cheeky smile. “Just having fun,” was all he replied. The two of you continued to make your rounds until you finally reached Queen Frigga. She complimented you on your dress and you wished her a happy birthday. You and Loki chatted politely for a few minutes with her before more people came up to speak with the queen as well. You noticed as you were walking away Frigga was eyeing you and Loki with a curious expression, as if she were trying to figure out what was occurring between the two of you. _I’m wondering the same thing Frigga,_ you thought.

The rest of the night continued on with you by Loki’s side. You noticed that people began to trickle out the more the time passed. You soon found out that several guests were staying for a few days and that would, unfortunately, include Freyja. After what seemed like the hundredth person you spoke to, you told Loki you needed fresh air. He escorted you back out onto the balcony and you saw that the couple from earlier were now gone.

“How do you stand talking to all those people?” you asked as you leaned your hands against the railing of the balcony, inhaling the air of the night. 

“Formalities,” was all Loki answered. You closed your eyes and lifted your chin up, loving the crisp, fresh air of the night. You heard Loki approach you from behind. You felt him place his cool hands on your shoulders and gently skim them slowly down your arms, causing goosebumps to form. He placed his palms on top of the back of your hands and slowly interlaced his long fingers between yours. You kept your eyes closed, taking in the sensation. Loki placed his mouth by your ear.

“I forgot to tell you that you look absolutely ravishing tonight, m’lady,” Loki whispered huskily in your ear. Heat traveled up your neck as you realized that was the first time Loki has ever called you ‘m’lady.’ For some reason, with it coming from him, it caused butterflies to form in your stomach. “My colors are most becoming on you,” he continued. He skimmed his mouth down your neck to the edge of your dress’s collar, placing a gentle kiss. 

You gently turned your head towards his and he pulled back slightly. Your lips were inches away from his own when a cool breeze suddenly came by, making your hair sway. A small shiver coursed through you and you watched Loki’s lips pull into a smirk. You gradually leaned in and you met his lips with your own. The kiss was agonizingly slow but you savored every moment. His lips tasted of wine and his luscious scent filled your senses. 

All of a sudden you heard someone clear their throat behind you. You pulled away and looked behind you to see Freyja with a questioning expression on her face. 

“Odin wishes to see you, Loki,” Freyja announced. Loki sighed gently before stepping away from you and wordlessly walking back into the palace. Freyja watched Loki pass her before looking back at you, her brow raised.

“I didn’t think there was anything between you and Loki,” she commented. 

You ignored her comment, walking by her and returning back into the palace as well. You noticed that only a quarter of the guests were now remaining. You scanned the giant room for Odin and Loki but they were nowhere to be found.

“They went to Odin’s study, if you’re wondering,” Freyja told you, walking up behind you. You muttered a thanks and went over to a banquet table, grabbing another drink. You then made your way over to Volstagg and Hogun who were sitting down, laughing.

“Where’s Fandral and Sif?” you asked, sitting down next to them. 

“Sif is currently with Frigga and Fandral left with a woman about a half hour ago,” Hogun answered, taking a giant gulp from his chalice. 

“Why aren’t you two with ladies this evening?” you asked them in a teasing manner.

“Psshh, who needs a woman,” Volstagg nearly roared. “All you need in life m’lady, is a goblet full of wine and a belly full of meat.”

“You just say that because Mjeinn rejected you tonight,” Hogun said with a grin. 

Volstagg puffed out his chest slightly. “I’m an acquired taste. She just wasn’t ready for me yet,” he mumbled into his drink, chugging the rest down. You couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

Volstagg glared at you. “What about you, m’lady? I saw you talking with Máni earlier. Why aren’t you with him? He seemed to fancy you.”

“Not my type,” you answered taking a swig from your own drink. 

“What woman doesn’t like a mysterious man? He’s the God of the Midgardian _Moon_ , m’lady. Can’t get any more mysterious than that,” Volstagg replied, chuckling. You continued to converse with Volstagg and Hogun while continually looking at the entrance of the grand hall you were in, waiting for Loki to return. After about an hour, only about a few dozen people remained, a majority of them being drunk, especially Volstagg. Hogun got up with Volstagg’s arm around him as he helped him return to his chambers, wishing you a goodnight before leaving. When they left you sighed and decided to leave as well, figuring that Loki wasn’t returning. 

You exited the hall and started to make your way back to your own room when you saw a passing servant. 

“Excuse me?” you said. The servant was pushing a tray filled with dirty plates towards the kitchen and she looked at you curiously. 

“Have you seen Master Loki lately?” You had no idea what made you ask her that. You just sort of blurted it out.

“I believe Master Loki has retired to his chambers, miss,” she replied. 

“Thanks,” you said and without thinking, you changed your direction and walked towards Loki’s room instead of your own.

 _Why am I doing this?_ you thought. _I should just go back to my room and go to bed. I should leave him alone. He probably won’t be in a good mood if he just was with Odin._ Despite your mental objections, you continued to walk towards Loki’s room. When you turned down his hall your heartrate increased and your palms began to tingle. You knocked gently on his door. You rubbed your hand over your arm, waiting for Loki to open the door. There wasn’t an answer. You tried knocking again. _Turn around. Walk away now,_ a part of you warned. _No,_ you thought back. _I wanted to come here for a reason._ You doubled checked to make sure you had the right door. Yup. You knocked on Loki’s door for a third time, but still no one answered. You sighed and turned, about to walk back down the hall.

You saw Loki leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a mischievous smile on his lips.

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to figure out I wasn’t there,” Loki said. You didn’t reply to his statement. You simply just walked right up to him and kissed him hard and with more urgency than you had on the balcony. You grabbed the edge of his long jacket and pulled him against you. He lifted his hands up as if he were showing that he meant no harm before putting them on your waist. You continued to kiss him with a desire and passion that you hadn’t experienced with him before and he returned your kisses with eagerness and enthusiasm. You slowly began to back up towards his room, tugging him with you.

When you bumped up against his door, you broke away from the kiss, the both of you breathing heavily. You saw that Loki’s eyes had darkened and held a primal hunger within them. You smirked at him, opening the door and letting yourself into his room. While you walked in, you quickly unpinned your hair and shook it out, letting it frame your face in wild curls. Loki came in and closed the door behind him while you kicked off your shoes. You gave him another smirk before turning your back towards him, sweeping your hair over your shoulder, indicating for him to undo the few buttons by your neck. You soon felt Loki’s fingertips brush over the nape of your neck, swiftly unbuttoning your collar. He hesitated for a moment before unwrapping it around your neck. You held the fabric against your chest with your hand as you turned back around.

You stared into Loki’s eyes confidently with a playful expression on your face as you gradually released your hand, gauging his reaction. A small smile tugged on the corner of his lips as the fabric wrapping your body slowly slid down, completely exposing you. You stood in the middle of your fallen dress in nothing except your panties and watched as Loki’s eyes grazed downwards, taking you in. You put your hand on your hip and cocked your head to the side with a teasing smile. You stepped out of ring of fabric and flicked it away with your foot. 

You stepped towards Loki with a questioning look. You raised yourself on your tiptoes, placing your hands against his chest, bringing your face towards his. Loki gently trailed his fingertips down your spine, causing a shiver to travel upwards. “Exquisite,” Loki whispered before kissing you fervently. You pushed his long jacket past his shoulders and he let it slide down his arms. He broke away from the kiss to swiftly remove his tunic to which he threw across the room, then instantly rejoined his lips with yours. You pushed him towards his bed and when his legs the side of it, you gave him a final push towards it, collapsing on top of him. You straddled his hips and leaned over, kissing him passionately. You felt him shift underneath you as he kicked off his shoes. You brushed your hands over the smooth expanse of his chest, feeling the muscles that hid underneath. 

You felt your lower half become warmer as you pressed your groin hard against his. You brushed your hand downwards and started to unbuckle his pants with one hand. Loki’s hands skimmed up your thighs and up to the sides of your waist. When you successfully undid his pants’ button you broke away from the kiss and put your mouth his ear. “I want you right now,” you seductively moaned into his ear. Loki gripped your waist and tugged you to the side, rolling over you. His chest pressed against yours as his hand brushed down your side, down your leg, his hand wrapping behind your knee and hitching it around his waist. He continued to kiss you passionately before breaking away and making his way to your neck, letting you catch your breath. Your chest heaved up and down, meeting his own with every breath. You tangled your hands in his raven hair as he nipped at your neck amorously, causing a gasp to occasionally escape your mouth. 

“I want to admire you,” Loki roughly said in your ear. You unwrapped your leg from his waist and slowly slipped out from underneath him. You scooched backwards on his bed and rested your head on his pile of pillows, your hair splayed out like a fan. Loki crawled over you, taking in every inch of you with his eyes. He leaned down and kissed your neck before brushing his hand upwards across your belly and towards your breasts. His mouth traveled downwards, his warm breath tickling your skin as he began kissing underneath your collarbone. Your breathing quickened when his hand brushed over your breast, cupping it. He began massaging it has he continued working his mouth downwards, devouring your body. You absolutely loved the way his soft lips felt against your skin, giving you indulgent, wet kisses in between your breasts. The further he traveled downwards, the more your back began to arch. 

“L-Loki,” you trembled. You were starting to become a little frustrated. He squeezed your breast gently, causing a moan to escape your lips. “I’m not done yet,” he growled against your stomach. When he reached the edge of your panties, he skipped over the thin fabric and went straight to the top of your inner thigh. You growled in frustration and he chuckled deeply against your leg, the feeling going right through your core. “Patience,” he warned before continuing downwards. He continued to massage your breast as he slowly gave your legs kisses. So painfully slow. You couldn’t take his teasing anymore. “Loki, you better pick things up or so help me god,” you rumbled at him. You could feel him smile against your thigh. “You truly are impatient,” he mumbled, but he obeyed, traveling back upwards and kissing you, bringing the urgency back up. He removed his hand from your breast and brought it downwards, his finger hooking into panties, sliding the flimsy fabric off of you with ease. Without breaking away from the kiss he slipped off his own pants off as you tangled your fingers back into his hair, gently massaging his scalp.

Loki brought his hand downwards and pressed the pad of his thumb against your clit. He moved it in circular motions causing you to moan into his mouth. Pleasure rippled through you and the more he continued rub your bundle of nerves, the more the tension built within your lower abdomen. He stopped suddenly and shifted his position over you, aligning himself with your entrance. He teased you by brushing his tip against your clit, causing a moan to come from you. “Beg,” he whispered harshly. “Fuck, Loki. Just give it to me already. I want you right now.” And without any more encouragement, Loki entered you forcefully, filling you up completely and causing a sharp gasp to come from you and a grunt to come from him. He held still for a moment, letting you adjust. Loki looked at you intensely with his eyes, questioning. You bit your lip and nodded your head yes, wrapping your legs around his waist before he slowly began to pump in and out of you. 

Loki soon began to quicken his pace, his head dropping next to your head. You moaned his name in encouragement and he would respond by going deeper and faster. His heavy breathing and grunting in your ear turning you on even more. All your senses were completely enveloped by Loki. You continued to moan in response and begged him to go faster, the knot returning stronger than ever in your stomach.

You gripped Loki’s shoulders as your back began to arch and Loki’s thrusts were becoming sloppier and harder. Loki started to mumble your name in your ear as he was reaching his end. Loki quickly brought his hand downwards and put pressure back onto your clit, rubbing it in circles, almost immediately doubling the amount of pleasure going through you. Loki suddenly stopped and you felt him twitch within you, feeling his hot seed spill into you. He grunted your name, breathing heavily. As he came down from his high, he quickened his pace on your clit, putting you closer and closer to your own edge. When you thought you couldn’t possibly feel any more pleasure and your back couldn’t arch any more, you unraveled at his touch. You moaned his name loudly before biting your bottom lip, your toes curling and your legs tightening around his waist. An intense wave of pleasure crashed over you and you closed your eyes, soaking in the sensation that Loki had brought you. Your walls tightened around Loki’s already softening member, causing a rumble to ripple through his chest.

When the pleasure slowly began to fade, exhaustion began to take its place. Loki watched your face as you came down from your high and you opened your eyes. He stared at you for a moment with admiration in his eyes, a smile curving at the edges of his lips. “Beautiful,” he whispered before gently kissing you. He then slipped out of you and laid down next to you. Your chest heaved up and down as you tried to steady your breathing. You felt your inner thighs slightly shaking. “I’m trembling,” you breathlessly whispered, causing a deep, husky laugh to escape from Loki’s lips. After a few minutes, you slipped underneath sheets with Loki, wrapping your arm across his stomach and laying your head on his chest. He automatically wrapped an arm around you, holding you close.


	25. Chapter 25

You could feel warm sunlight resting on your face you as starting to come to the next morning. You were laying on your belly, your arms underneath your pillow hugging it close to your face. The sheet over you had gone down while you were sleeping, just stopping at the end of your spine, exposing the entirety of your back. The more you started to wake up, the more the memories from the previous night washed over you, causing the edges of your lips to curl up. You slowly began stretching out your legs, feeling what damage had been done. You felt sore in your lower half, but you weren’t sure how bad it would be until you tried to stand. You slowly opened your eyes and saw the morning sun rising in the horizon of the giant window that was facing you. You squinted as you saw a tall, dark figure move in front of you.

“Good morning,” Loki said to you. You squeezed your eyes shut to get rid of some of the blurriness before opening them again and taking Loki in detail this time. He was wearing nothing except for his pants, the smooth expanse of his stomach and chest showcased. His hair was damp from having just come from a bath and you couldn’t help but just stare at him.

“You’re quite the talker in the morning I see,” Loki commented. You ignored him and continued to lap up the sight in front of you, a small smile forming on your lips. “You’re beautiful,” you mumbled at him, your voice slightly croaking from sleep. Loki looked at you in slight shock before quickly putting an expressionless face on. He disappeared from your field of view and your heart sank as the sight in front of you was taken away. He soon returned though with a glass filled with some kind of blue liquid. He placed it on the nightstand next to your head. “Drink,” he instructed before walking away. You lifted your head off of the pillow to get a better look at it and slowly reached for it.

“What is it?” you asked, your voice still slightly hoarse. 

“It’s to ensure you don’t become pregnant,” Loki answered from across the room. Your hand stilled for a moment before you retreated it back. You sat up and wrapped the fallen sheet around your body, covering yourself up. You looked over and saw that Loki was now completely dressed and was tugging his boots on. He looked between you and the glass with a questioning look. “What’s the problem?” he asked.

“There’s no need for me to drink it,” you said. Loki furrowed his brows for a brief second before realization washed over his face. “Ah,” he said, standing. “The order?”

You nodded your head and looked back out the window, your eyes squinting at the light. “How long ago?” Loki asked.

“When we first get our periods,” you answered. “It’s not permanent though.” You looked back over at Loki and saw that he had a confused look on his face. 

“The women who are trained within the order have a device implanted within them, preventing pregnancy. It keeps the population under strict control as well as make things easier for us. Can’t really do your job if you have a child,” you explained. “Only thing is, only they know how to remove it. So I’m kind of stuck with it.” You turned your head back to the window. 

Someone knocked at the door at that moment and Loki walked over, opening it. 

“I have brought you your breakfast, Master Loki,” you heard a little girl say. Loki silently took the tray from her and closed the door, placing it on a nearby table. You stood from the bed, holding the sheet close to your chest, ensuring it wouldn’t fall. A sudden realization dawned on you. “Shit,” you mumbled. Loki sat down, propping his feet up on another chair, while removing the cover of the tray. “What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t have any clothes to wear. I’ll look horrid walking back in my dress. I will not be doing the walk of shame.” 

Loki chuckled. “You could just stay naked in here,” he said. 

You narrowed your eyes at him. “Nice try,” you replied. He eyed the practically see-through sheet covering your body before clearing his throat.

“Eat,” he commanded, pushing the tray to you. You walked over to him but completely ignored the food, tugging the sheet off of the bed behind you. He watched you warily as you straddled his lap, exposing both your thighs. You put your hands on either side of his neck, his slightly damp hair tickling the backs of your hands. You slowly leaned in. “I need my robes,” you growled against his mouth. 

“I prefer you dressed the way you are,” Loki replied cheekily.

“You’ll never see me dressed like this again, unless I get my robes,” you threatened. Loki sighed and faint golden glow encompassed your body and you felt smooth fabric begin form and run over your skin. You looked down and saw that Loki had given you a simple green dress, fitting you snugly. You gave him a small smile. “Thanks,” you said before swinging your leg back over Loki, standing. It wasn’t your robes but at least it wouldn’t be embarrassing walking back to your room later. However, you noticed that the dress was quite short. You turned around and glared at him. He simply gave you a grin as you sat down across from him and started to eat the contents on the tray. 

When you looked up, you saw that he had had opened up a book and begun to read. “How come you aren’t eating?” you asked.

“Already have,” he answered, not bothering to look up. You left him be with his book as you finished your meal. When you were taking the last few bites, another knock sounded on the door and Loki lazily called for them to come in. The young servant girl that you had encountered days ago entered. Without saying a word, she came in with folded linens in a wooden basket. She laid them out on a nearby chair and begun the work of changing Loki’s sheets. You slightly blushed when she had to walk over and pick up the sheet that you had dragged over to Loki. You looked over at him but he seemed completely unfazed. You suddenly remembered that your panties were laying somewhere around here and your cheeks flamed. _Uh oh_ , you thought.

You swiveled in your chair, scanning the floor frantically, until you saw the tiny clump of fabric laying right behind where the servant was currently standing. Holding in your laughter, you quietly stood, and tiptoed quickly over to her. She was too busy clumping the dirty sheets in her hands to notice you approaching. You swiftly scooped up the fabric on the floor and then tiptoed back to your seat. Loki was still reading his book when you sat down but you noticed a smile tugging on the corner of his lips. 

Within minutes, the servant had Loki’s bed made with the fresh sheets and was exiting the room with the dirty ones in the basket, your empty breakfast tray balancing on top. When she closed the door behind her, Loki sighed and closed the book shut, resting it on the table. You stared at his features, suddenly remembering about his mystery disappearance with Thor. Loki turned his eyes on you.

“Where did Odin send you?” you asked him blatantly. 

“Gundershelm,” Loki answered.

You raised your brows. “Quite a mouthful.”

Loki gave you a small smile before picking his feet off the chair in front of him and standing. “I’m afraid Thor and mine’s presence managed to get them quite upset at us.” Loki walked over to where you tossed your dressed the night before and picked it up. You swiveled in your chair and put your chin on the back of it. 

“What happened?”

“Odin sent us to ensure diplomatic relations with a small village within that territory. However, Thor brilliantly took us through the Dwarf Kingdom and the Domain of Trolls. So instead of actually reaching our objective, we were busy trying to convince them that we meant them no harm,” Loki explained, walking towards you. He handed you your dress and you took it, standing from your chair. 

“We were lucky that we made it back in time for my mother’s birthday, but now there’s a bit of unrest directed towards us. I would not be surprised if you are soon sent out with the others to deal with it.”

“Where exactly is this Dwarf Kingdom?”

“Right past the Asgardian Mountains.”

“Hm,” you said, trying to figure out the geography in your head. 

“Thor and I have to meet with Odin shortly to figure out a plan of action.”

“Is that why Odin needed to see you last night?”

Loki sighed softly. “Yes. There was a false alarm of them trying to cross the mountain range, but it’ll only be a matter of time until they actually try to do so,” Loki told you as the two of you walked towards his door. You scooped up your shoes as you passed them. 

You opened his door and started to walk out. You turned around and saw Loki leaning slightly forward, his forearm resting on the doorframe.

“Well, I’m sure your meeting with Odin and Thor will be loads of fun,” you sarcastically said, giving him a smile. 

Loki closed his eyes and sighed. “The things I would do to not have to go.” Without thinking, you took a quick step towards him on your tiptoes and gave him gentle kiss. His lips were still for a brief second but he soon returned the kiss quickly. You broke away suddenly.

“Have fun,” you teased against his lips before pulling away all together and walking down the hall barefoot.

~

You were slipping on your second boot when you heard a knock on your door. You shook out your wet hair from your bath and opened the door to be greeted by Sif in her usual armor. 

“Hello,” Sif said brightly to you, giving you a smile.

“Hi,” you said back, your brows slightly pulling together. “Am I needed?” you asked.

“Odin wishes to see us,” Sif answered. You nodded your head and turned back into the room, grabbing your belt of pouches and weapons and quickly exited. As you and Sif walked down the hall you swung the belts around your waist and buckled them with ease.

“So how was your evening?” Sif asked you.

Your cheeks became slightly speckled in pink. “It was…enjoyable. How was yours?”

She gave you smile. “It was fun. Thor became quite friendly with me,” she admitted. This time it was her turn to blush, the first time you’ve ever seen her do so. You raised your brows and gave her a playful, knowing look. She looked over at you and her blush deepened. “He was being an oaf. He was filled with alcohol. He didn’t know what he was doing.”

“Uh huh,” you said back, continuing to look her with the same expression. She glanced back over at you and let out a laugh. “Will you stop? Nothing happened.” You couldn’t help but return her laughter. 

“What’s so amusing?” you heard Volstagg ask you and Sif from behind. The two of you turned around and saw Volstagg and Hogun approaching you.

“None of your concern,” Sif replied, turning back around and continued walking. 

You couldn’t help but grin, trying to keep back your laughter, as you followed behind Sif. Volstagg gave a confused look between you and Sif trying to figure out what was going on. He grunted in frustration. “What am I missing here?”

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh and Sif turned her head to glare at you, causing you to laugh harder. This only made Volstagg more frustrated. He stopped walking. “What is so amusing?” he nearly shouted. Hogun simply patted Volstagg on the shoulder. “Let it go,” he told him, passing him. The group continued to walk down the hall towards Odin’s study when you heard frantic, running footsteps coming towards you. You turned around and saw Fandral jogging to catch up. When he finally did, he was panting heavily, trying to catch his breath. 

“You almost arrived late,” Sif commented.

“I…had to…pull…myself…away…from…,” Fandral spoke between breaths.

“For god’s sake Fandral, why are so out of breath?” Volstagg asked him.

“M’lady…is most adventurous,” was all Fandral said. Volstagg barked out a loud laugh patting Fandral on the back while Sif responded, “Ew.”

The group finally arrived at Odin’s study and Sif knocked on the door, letting herself in. When you entered the room you saw that Thor and Loki, who had already been in there for quite some time, sitting in two giant seats. Loki was biting his thumb with the side of his mouth, looking at Odin in concentration, not acknowledging anyone that had just entered. Thor however stood quickly, a giant grin forming. “My friends! I trust that you had excellent evenings!” Thor looked expectedly at Sif, his arms opening for a hug which she completely ignored, walking by him and taking an empty seat. Thor looked a little shocked at Sif’s cold shoulder, his smile slipping, looking like a kicked puppy. 

“I know Fandral had quite the evening. And morning, apparently,” Volstagg announced happily to the room.

Fandral looked slightly embarrassed as he sat down. You held back laughter as you took a seat in between Hogun and Volstagg. You looked over at Odin who was completely unamused. _Geez, does he ever smile?_ you wondered.

“Can we now begin?” Odin asked everyone, annoyed. 

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the royal bed,” Volstagg whispered in your ear and you snorted.

“Volstagg,” Odin said sternly, a warning.

Volstagg bowed his head. “I apologize, your majesty.” 

Odin ignored his apology and began to speak. “It seems as if we’ve run into a bit of a complication. Due to miscommunication with those in the Domain of Trolls, they believe us to be hostile towards them. We’re expecting them to attack soon for what they believe to be self-defense. I want you all to leave this afternoon and ensure that relations between us stay peaceful.”

“How do you wish for us to do that, your majesty?” Hogun asked.

Odin sighed. “That is what we’ve been trying to figure out. We believe that if we split you up and send you to different territories, they won’t view our entrance as an open attack. You would then ensure that the area you are assigned to are still peaceful with us. Assure them that we mean no harm. If that doesn’t work then you have my permission to use any means necessary as self-defense if they decide to attack.”

“How will we be split up?” Fandral asked.

“Well, we can’t have Thor and Loki together, seeing as how that is what started this whole thing.” Odin sighed and closed his uncovered eye in concentration for a brief moment, thinking. He suddenly said your name and you peeked over in interest. “You will be with Thor. You will be responsible for the southwest of the domain. Loki and Sif will take the south end of the Enchanted Forest, northeast of the Kingdom of the Dwarfs; Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun will take the western side. You will all work your way inwards to the center of the domain. You should all meet each other within a few days.”

 _A few days?!_ You would be stuck working alone with Thor for a few days?! You swallowed your distaste for the idea and simply accepted your assignment without objection. 

“What of Freyja, father?” Thor interjected. _Oh no. Please stop._ “She would be a useful contribution to our mission.”

Odin thought in silence for a few moments. “If she feels the desire to aid us then she is more than welcome to. You’ll be in charge of catching her up to speed, Thor. I also entrust to you giving her a role suited to her abilities. You are all dismissed,” Odin finished.

You stood with the others and turned to leave the study, slightly disappointed that you had been assigned with Thor and now finding out that Freyja would be joining you as well. _Well this will be one hell of a journey,_ you thought as you exited the room, a headache already forming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're curious:
> 
> http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070602232122/marveldatabase/images/2/22/Map_of_Asgard.jpg


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is going to be more light-hearted and fun because things are going to turn a bit dark after this. Just wanted to give you something nice before delving into the heavy stuff. ^.^
> 
> I also wanted to thank for everyone's support for this story! I'm really happy that it's being so well received and it has really encouraged me to continue writing it! So thank you all for your kudos and comments! <3 
> 
> Enjoy!

As you exited the study, Thor walked passed you and looked over his shoulder at you. “Follow me,” he said, his tone conveying that no wouldn’t be taken as an answer. You suppressed a sigh as you walked behind Thor, having no clue where he was leading you. He didn’t say a word as he brought you down a few unfamiliar hallways, finally stopping at a door that looked similar to your own. You leaned against the opposite wall, crossing your arms and placing your foot against the golden concrete while Thor knocked on the door. 

A few seconds later, the door opened and you and Thor were greeted with Freyja’s half-naked body. She was standing in just a bra and panties, her hair ruffled and tangled. When she saw Thor, she gave him big smile but it slightly slipped when her eyes flickered over to you, seeing you giving her the stink eye. She ignored you and looked back to Thor.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Thor?” Freyja said to him, completely unabashed by her exposed state. Thor peeked into her room and cleared his throat.

“Is now not a good time?” Thor asked. At that moment you heard a male voice call from inside the room. “Freyja, darling, who’s there?” Freyja sighed. “Give me a moment,” she told Thor before closing the door. Thor turned and looked awkwardly back at you and you raised your brows at him.

“Boy, oh, boy. I sure am glad she’ll be joining us,” you said sarcastically, not bothering to hide your irritation. You dropped the foot that was against the wall and crossed your ankles, adjusting your position. 

“Her contribution will be most useful to us,” Thor replied.

“What? Is she going to sleep with the trolls?”

Before Thor could respond, Freyja reopened the door and stepped out, wearing her golden dress, her hair now smoothed down. She quickly closed the door behind her. “Shall we take a walk?” she asked. Thor nodded and gestured with his arm for her to start walking. Before he joined her, Thor turned and shot you a look, silently warning you not to say anything.

You walked behind them as Thor caught Freyja up, explaining the entire situation to her. You tuned them out for the most part, your mind wandering, constantly thinking back to the night before with Loki. You were so wrapped up in your memories that you hadn’t noticed when Thor and Freyja had stopped walking, causing you to walk straight into Freyja’s back. She whipped around and glared at you. You muttered an apology as she raised her brows in disbelief at Thor. 

“ _This_ is the best assassin you have?” she asked Thor. 

“We’ll call for you when we need some Midgardians to get knocked up,” you said, your patience running real thin with her. 

“Real mature,” she spat at you. 

You turned to Thor. “Do not put her with us. I’ll be slitting my own throat before we even leave,” you said to him. 

“Excuse me? Who are you to tell Thor what to do? If Thor wishes for me to join him then I shall do so.”

“Yes, because you’ve made it so clear that you would enjoy being with me for more than a day,” you said to her.

“Well maybe if you pulled that stick out of your ass, you’d be more enjoyable to be around.”

You took a step towards her. “Well then maybe you should stop acting like an entitled bitch all the time.”

Freyja balled her hands into fists and took a step towards you, the two of you now inches apart. “Do you want me to tell Thor who you’ve become friendly with? I’m sure he and Odin would be most interested to hear.”

You turned back to Thor with your eyebrows raised. “Do you really wish to listen to her pick fights for days on end? She’s already proven that she can’t ever shut her mouth.” 

Freyja pulled her fist back and launched it towards you, aiming for your cheek. You swiftly ducked out of the way and narrowed your eyes at her. “You really want to start this?” you asked her. 

“Enough, ladies,” Thor interjected, putting a muscular arm between the two of you. “There’s no need to continue. You’ve both made your point.” Both you and Freyja took and step back and he sighed heavily, thinking of a solution. 

“Put me with another group,” you suggested to Thor.

“Oh gee, I wonder which group you’re thinking,” Freyja replied. 

You ignored her comment, continuing to talk to Thor. “Switch me and Sif. I get away from Freyja _and_ you get to have Sif with you,” you tried to convince Thor. He looked at you warily.

“I’m not certain that my father will agree to such a thing.”

“Look, Odin said for you to use your best judgment to place Freyja, which means you might have to make a few changes. Everyone wins with what I’ve proposed.” 

Thor sighed again, running his hands through his hair thinking. After an agonizing minute he turned to you. “Alright. But you do not mention the changes to Odin. Not yet anyways. I’ll come up with a reason that he’ll accept later.”

For the first time ever you agreed with Thor’s choices. You gave him a relieved smile. “Thank you,” you said to him. Thor gave you a slight smile before turning back around and started to walk back down the hall. Before joining him you looked over at Freyja who was eyeing you, her eyes narrowed.

“Don’t get too distracted with your new partner,” Freyja said before walking behind Thor.

~

You were walking through the back gardens of the palace with a satchel slung across your shoulders filled with water and food supplied from the kitchens, looking for your partner. The mid-afternoon sun was beating down on you, causing a slight sweat to begin to form on your forehead from your robes. You brushed your hands against the meticulously trimmed landscaping, feeling the leaves and sticks scratch against your palms. 

You found Loki laying down on a stone bench, his hands behind his head and one knee bent, staring up at the sky, waiting for Sif. You tucked your hair into your robes and flicked the hood over your head. Loki heard your approaching footsteps and lazily turned his head towards you. His brows furrowed when he saw you instead of Sif. 

“You ready, partner?” you asked him as you walked briskly by his bench, heading for the pathway that led to back gates of the property. You heard Loki get up and start following you.

“I see that you lasted long with Freyja,” you heard Loki say from behind you. 

You turned your head. “What do you mean? I think her and I have a chance of becoming close friends. We just get along _so_ well. I mean, just earlier today, she tried to hit me.”

Loki caught up to you and easily kept up with your pace. “That’s something I would like to see.”

You looked over to him. “What? Us becoming friends?”

Loki gave you a coy smile, a sparkle in his eye. “You two get into a fight. I’m most curious as to whom would come out on top.”

“Where would you put your money?”

“Freyja does have being the goddess of war on her side, so I would have to say her.”

You stopped in your tracks and glared at Loki. He gave you smile in return, continuing to walk towards the gates. 

“Is that the answer you really want to pick?” you asked, starting to walk again. 

Loki simply gave you a roguish look as you walked towards the gates, the guards stationed there beginning to unlock it and open it for the two of you. When you passed through, one of the guards turned to Loki, bowing.

“The horses have been prepared, Master Loki.”

Loki simply nodded and brought you over to where two horses had been had been hitched to a wooden post. Loki handed you the leather straps to a grey steed, his hands brushing up against yours, never failing to cause a tingling sensation. You mounted your horse with ease and watched as Loki walked over to his own black horse and mounted it. 

“How long will it take to arrive?” you asked as you pulsed your calves and encouraged your steed to start trotting alongside Loki’s. 

“We ride to the entrance of the mountains and from there it’s all on foot. Once we pass through the range, we’ll stay close to the Sea of Marmora in order to ensure we don’t enter the Dwarf Kingdom. It’ll be several hours until we actually reach the Enchanted Forest.”

You nodded your head and absorbed the information that Loki gave you. You hoped that Loki would be able to get you in and out of these troll settlements as quickly as possible. You had no idea what to expect and you had an uneasy feeling in your stomach that something could easily go wrong if one of you made one wrong move. 

~

“Good lord, it’s hot,” you complained as you walked through an open field with the grass coming up to the middle of you waist. Your forehead, cheeks, and neck were coated with a shine and your cheeks flushed from the heat. You were walking in front of Loki, pushing aside the tall grass, the edge of the forest just off in the distance, about a thirty minute walk. After a day, you were finally reaching your destination. Loki had successfully kept you away from any from the Dwarf Kingdom, so you were able to travel rather quickly. Well, as quickly as you could go on foot. You realized that if you had stayed on horseback, it would have cut the time significantly. 

You did stop for the night, exhausted from the walking, which Loki wasn’t happy about. He wanted to continue to travel, saying that you only had another two hours but you refused go any further. You only got a few hours of sleep, as you and Loki would alternate watches every two hours or so, ensuring your safety. The breeze from the Sea of Marmora had kept you cool throughout the journey until you had to turn south and work your way towards the forest. So now here you were, walking in the middle of a field with the sun beating down on you, sweating balls, eager to make it to the cool shade of the forest. 

“Perhaps you should invest in some cooler clothing,” Loki suggested with amusement in his tone. You were suddenly bathed in a golden light and when you looked down a second later you saw that you were wearing a skimpy dress that barely covered everything. You turned around and crossed your arms, glaring at Loki.

“Much better,” Loki said with a grin. 

“Change me back,” you said, unamused. 

“I don’t think I want to.”

“Change me back,” you repeated.

Loki gestured with hand for you to start walking again. “Keep walking. I’m happy with this view.”

“I’m not going to move anywhere until you give me back my robes,” you said defiantly. 

Loki sighed. “Suit yourself.” He walked towards you and you narrowed your eyes. He scooped you up with ease and flung you over his shoulder.

“Loki, put me down right now or you’ll regret it.”

“Will I?” was all he replied. 

You felt absolutely ridiculous in this position. You tried to twist away but his arm held you firmly in place. You could only imagine how this were to look if someone were to see you from a distance. You sighed and just accepted your fate, propping your elbow on his back and putting your chin on your hand as you continued to sway from Loki’s walking. After about a minute of being carried, Loki suddenly stopped.

“Are you going to put me down now?” you asked, irritated. 

“Quiet,” Loki said to you, clearly hearing something that was nearby. You strained your ears but all you could hear was the swaying of the grass. You were slowly put down, the golden light returning around you. When your feet made purchase with the ground you saw that your robes had been returned. You saw Loki’s hand move out of the corner of your eye and when you looked down, you saw him slip out his dagger. You furrowed your brows and quickly scanned the area looking for the danger, but you couldn’t see anything. You even tuned in your sixth sense and yet you still couldn’t find anything. 

Loki gestured with his hand for you stay were you were and slowly started to walk off to the side, poising his arm to strike. You watched him walk a few feet to your left before stopping and pulling his arm back. He suddenly brought it downwards and you heard the blade slid into some kind of flesh, an intense hissing noise filling the air that gradually began to die down. Loki picked up whatever he just killed and walked back towards you.

He was dragging a giant snake with him that had to be no less than five feet long and was as thick as his arm. Loki held a giant grin, clearly happy with his catch. He squatted down and draped the snake over his thighs, holding the head in his hands, forcing its jaw open. 

“Empty canteen,” Loki said to you. You slung the satchel off of your back and opened it, pulling out a water canteen that you had finished earlier that day and handed it to Loki. He took it from you wordlessly and placed it underneath one of the snake’s giant fangs. Loki pinched the tooth with his fingers and in one swift motion, broke the tooth with a loud snapping noise. Venom quickly poured out of the hole and dropped into the canteen. You watched with a look of disgust on your face. Loki looked up and laughed. 

“Little guy has been following us for a half hour. Looks like he finally decided to attack,” Loki explained as he shook the snake’s head to get the last drop of venom. He then moved to the second giant fang, repeating the process. 

“Little guy?” you questioned. 

“He’s just a baby. No more than a few days old would be my guess.”

“Geez, how big do they get?” you asked in disbelief.

Loki chuckled as he got up and screwed on the cap of the canteen, chucking the snake off to the side. “I have a feeling you wouldn’t want to know.” He handed you the canteen to put back in the satchel. “Its venom is useful for many healing remedies. The infirmary will appreciate the find.” As you returned the canteen back into your bag, Loki started to make his way back to the cover of the forest. You followed behind him, sweating more than before. You – reluctantly - were starting to wish for the skimpy dress back. You practically sprinted into the forest when you were close enough.

“Finally!” you exclaimed as you reached the cool shade of the giant trees of the Enchanted Forest. You plopped down on a pile of fallen twigs and leaves, basking in the canopy’s shadows. 

“We need to continue moving south,” Loki said seriously as he passed your leaf bed. You sighed and got up started to follow Loki once again. While you watched his back, an idea popped into your head and you swiftly picked up a rock that you passed, pocketing it. You then immediately went into stealth mode and without making a single noise, you climbed a nearby tree. You traveled from branch to branch, tree to tree, following Loki from above. Loki asked you a question that you couldn’t quite hear due to your distance and when you didn’t answer, he turned around and found you no longer following him.

Loki sighed and crossed his arms, irritation forming on his features. “Come out,” Loki said, this time loud enough for you to hear his words. With him now facing the other direction, you slowly crouch-walked across the branch you were currently on towards the tree closest to him. When you reached the trunk of the tree, you slowly began to make your way down, making sure not to give away your location. 

Loki called your name, clearly becoming more irritated but you also detected a hint of concern in his tone. You took out the rock that you grabbed earlier and you kneaded it in your palm. You then pulled your arm back and chucked it at a tree that was nowhere near where you were. The rock caused snapping noises as it traveled through the branches and a loud ‘thunk’ as it hit the ground, giving Loki a false location. 

He turned to the sound of the rock and scanned his eyes across the tree’s branches. “Come down now or I’m going to leave you.” With his back turned, you continued to make your way down the branches until you were only a few feet above his head. Loki sighed angrily. “I’m not playing your games,” he announced, turning and starting to walk again. When he passed by your hiding spot, you pounced at him, tackling him to the ground causing a grunt to come from both of you. You rolled a couple of times before you were able to straddle him, pinning his arms over his head. 

“Pinned ya,” you said with a smirk. 

Loki narrowed his eyes at you. “Not impressed,” he said.

“Oh?”

“You attacked my back while I was unaware. Doesn’t count.”

“Well,” you started, letting go of Loki’s arms and standing up, unsheathing your sword and tossing it to the side so it wouldn’t get in the way. “Let’s give it a fair try then.” You took a few steps back and squatted slightly, putting your hands on your knees and alternated the weight on your feet back and forth, swaying.

Loki propped up on his elbows. “You’re not serious?”

You gave him a coy smile. “Scared I’ll pin you again?”

Loki sighed and gracefully stood up. “This is a waste of time. We have things we need to do.”

You gave him chicken noises and he glared at you. “How old are you?”

You raised your hand and motioned with two fingers for him to come after you. He sighed again before putting himself into a fighting position, raising his arms in defense with a bored expression on his face.

You flashed your eyebrows up and down once with a smirk pulling on the corner of your lips. You changed your position into a running stance, your right hand digging into the dirt. “Ready?” you asked him.

“Just get on with it,” he replied with annoyance in his tone. 

You sprinted towards him and tried to land a hit but he blocked it easily with his forearms. You continued to try and get a hit in, but he was able to stop every single one of them. During one of your attempts, he grabbed your wrist and spun you around, pulling your back against his chest and using his other arm to lock you against him. “You lose,” he said in your ear.

“Think again,” you replied. You grabbed his arm that was around you and twisted easily out of his embrace. You kept your grip on his arm and used your momentum to push off the ground and tackle him once again to the ground. 

“Pinned ya again,” you said with a smug expression. Loki looked at you in slight shock as you leaned down planted a quick peck on his lips. You swiftly stood up and offered your hand to help him to his feet. He eyed your hand for a second before reaching over and taking it. However, when you started to pull, he pulled back more forcefully, tugging you to the ground next to him. He rolled over and put his chest on top of yours, trapping you against the ground.

He smirked at you before leaning in and kissing you fervently. You kissed him back with enthusiasm, sliding your hands to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. His hand skimmed up your bent leg, stopping at the top of your thigh. Though your senses were completely filled by Loki, the sound of running water suddenly entered your ears. You furrowed your brows and stopped kissing Loki. “Wait, stop,” you said against his lips. “What’s wrong,” he asked breathlessly. 

“I hear water,” you replied. You gently pushed Loki away and stood, trying to figure out which direction the noise was coming from. “This way,” you said, walking over to the sword you tossed and sheathing it into your belt. You jogged towards the source of the noise, through a dense part of the forest, quickly pushing aside the branches that were in your way. You finally pushed through to a small opening, laughing excitedly at your discovery. A small waterfall was dumping water into a deep spring pool, its ice blue water sparkling from the sunlight. 

You quickly kicked off your boots and unbuckled your belts. When Loki finally broke through the dense forest, you were pulling your tunic over your head. You swiftly pulled off your tight breeches and threw it with the rest of the pile until you stood in just your bra and booty shorts. You shot Loki a big grin as you ran towards the pool of water and dove head first into the cold water, instantly cooling off your sweaty body. You stayed underneath the water until your lungs begged for air. You returned to the surface and fresh air filled up your lungs. You wiped your hair back and rubbed the water away from your eyes. 

You suddenly heard and felt a giant splash behind you. You quickly spun around and saw the area where Loki had dove in. While you were waiting for him to return to the surface, you suddenly felt a large hand wrap around your ankle and pull you down. Your squeal was quickly muted by the water and when you opened your eyes underwater, you saw Loki’s body swim upwards. You stayed underneath and quickly swam up behind him. You hastily broke the surface and wrapped your arms around his neck, pushing him back down. When you both came back up, Loki turned around and glared at you playfully, about to push you back under. You quickly raised your hands to show mercy. “Uncle, uncle!” you half laughed, half shouted.

You then floated on your back and basked in the sun that came through in rays from the canopy above you, enjoying the feeling. After a few minutes, you swam to the shallow end of the spring with Loki behind you. As soon as you could stand on the rocky bottom, you turned towards Loki who immediately leaned in and kissed you, catching you off guard. You hesitated for a brief second before returning the kiss eagerly with a small smile, wrapping your arms loosely around his neck. Loki pulled you close, pressing your half-naked body against his. A fire slowly began to build deep within your belly and a primal, lustful urge slowly began to course through you. 

Loki effortlessly picked you up and you automatically wrapped your legs around his waist. He waded through the water, continually kissing you, until you made it to the grassy shore. He laid you down gently, slipping his arms from out underneath you. You tightened your grip around his waist with your legs and slid your hands over his shoulder to his wet chest. You pushed him hard to the side, rolling him over and straddling him. You leaned over and continued to kiss him as you skimmed your hand down his chest, bringing it between your legs and gently cupping and massaging him through his briefs. You heard a deep rumble come from his chest, turning you on even more. 

You smiled against his mouth while you brought both hands down and slowly pulled the fabric off of him. You quickly slid of your own shorts and gently grabbed the shaft of his member, slowly running your hands up and down, causing a small moan from him to spill into your mouth. You shifted your weight more your toes as you positioned him right to your entrance. You teased him by gradually lowering yourself onto him, agonizingly slow. Loki immediately placed his hands onto your hips. You bit your lower lip as you fully took Loki inside of you, this new position filling you up completely different then when you had been laying down. “Fuck Loki, you’re big,” you mumbled, trying to adjust to his size without hurting yourself. Loki let out a rough laugh. “We can always change positions.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “No,” you said defiantly. “It’s my turn.” You tested the waters by slowly moving your hips in small circular motions earning a moan from both you and Loki. The fact that you were so exposed in the middle of the forest, doing what you were outside, was making you more excited and you wanted nothing more than express it directly towards Loki. You stopped moving your hips and put a slight pressure on Loki’s chest with your hands to steady yourself. 

“You good?” you asked with a teasing smile. Loki flashed you one back. “You can’t hurt me,” he replied. You slowly began to move up and down and you immediately moaned at the sensation it brought you. As you slowly became more comfortable with his size, you quickened your pace, increasing the amount of pleasure shooting up through you. Every time would come back down, Loki would meet your hips with his one, furthering both your gratifications. You focused all your energy on his hips and you couldn’t help but throw your head back and bit your lip at what you were experiencing. 

“You are so breathtaking,” Loki murmured and you looked down at him with a mischievous smile, seeing his eyes looking back up at you, filled with desire. You quickened your pace and both of you contorted your face in pleasure. You could tell Loki was starting to reach his end so you slowed down, moving your hips against in slow circles. Loki growled at the sudden change in pace, but you weren’t going to let him finish yet. As you continued to move your hips you brought your hand down and started to rub your clit, bringing you closer to your own edge. As the explosion of pleasure rocketed through you, you continued to ride it out on Loki. The feeling of your walls coming down on him tighter and repeatedly, quickly brought Loki to his own high, his member twitching within you and his cum shooting inside you. You slowed down your hips gradually as you both came down from your high and you felt Loki begin to soften inside you. 

Loki sat up with you still on top of him, pulling you close against his chest, and kissed you with such intensity, your heart fluttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lion King reference anyone? ;)


	27. Chapter 27

The sound of twigs and leaves crackling underneath your boots filled the eerie silence of the Enchanted Forest. You would occasionally hear the scattering of some kind of mammal up in the trees or a bird cawing off in the distance, but other than that there was nothing. You could only imagine what was possibly lurking silently in the dense woodland. The air was filled with the smells of sap and dirt, a combination you actually enjoyed, inhaling it whenever a breeze passed by. 

“How much longer until we reach the first clan?” you asked Loki, who was walking behind you on the narrow pathway that you were currently on. 

“It shouldn’t be more than an hour,” he answered. 

“And how many do we have to visit?”

“Three. Two are in the forest and the third is in the domain.”

You continued to walk in silence for a few minutes until Loki spoke up.

“I have to warn you that the trolls aren’t a race of beings you’ve encountered before. They’re known to be cunning and deceptive, especially towards Asgardians. You make one wrong move in front of them and they’ll immediately turn aggressive.”

“Huh,” you said. You turned around and gave Loki a sardonic look. “Sounds like someone else I know.”

Loki glared at you and you barked out a laugh, continuing to brush back the branches of trees that got in your way. Loki continued to speak.

“We need to try our best to not get into a physical altercation with them. Though I admit your strength and skill is impressive, it would be no match to theirs.”

“So I guess what you’re saying is that you’ll do all the talking and I should stand there quietly and not provoke them,” you said, turning your head and looking at him. 

Loki gave you a grin. “I knew you would catch on quick.” You sighed, turning back around and continued down the path. 

Your stomach growled ferociously at that moment and you realized you hadn’t eaten a full meal since the day before. You swung the satchel to your chest and quickly opened it. You grabbed one of the fruits you took from the kitchen and in one swift motion, you threw it over your head towards Loki without looking back. You heard him catch it and take a bite while you grabbed your own, flinging the bag back over your shoulder. 

You continued down the path you were on for another forty minutes, the vegetation becoming increasingly thicker, making it harder to push aside the branches that would block your bath. The smell of smoke and rotting meat slowly became stronger the more you traveled, causing you to wrinkle your nose. There was barely any sunlight coming through the tree’s canopy anymore, only providing minimal lighting on the path ahead of you. 

Your robes continued to snag on the thorny bushes and a sharp twig had brushed across your cheek when you were pulling it aside causing a thin cut and blood to slowly drip out. “Son of a bitch,” you mumbled, wiping your cheek with the back of your dirty, gloved hand. This only smeared the blood all across your cheek and made the small cut red and irritated. You flipped your hood over your head to prevent any further damage to your skin.

You suddenly saw a foggy, dimly lit opening only a few more feet in front of you and you continued to push through the dense vegetation. But before you could break through, Loki grabbed the top of your arm, stilling you.

“They know we’re here,” he whispered. He let go of his grip on your arm as he slowly walked past you and pushed through the opening. You followed close behind him and the stench of rotting meat bombarded your senses stronger than when you had been in the vegetation. You were now in a large clearing, the rest of the forest surrounding the area. It was so dark you could barely detect the large huts that were scattered about with butchered, bloody meat resting on top of the clay roofs.

There was small fire that laid in the center, a pot submerged in the middle of it, cooking a meal. There were carts filled to the brim with different metals and jewels, recently mined up from underneath the ground, placed off to the side. You started to get a haunting feeling deep within your stomach. You felt uneasy in the troll’s den and you wanted to turn around. You were starting to question where Odin sent you off to. 

“Loki,” you heard Loki’s name being drawled by a deep, threatening voice. You couldn’t find the source of the voice as it was hidden deep within the shadows. “Why have you entered our home without permission?” 

“King Odin has sent us to ensure peaceful relations,” Loki replied back easily, with no hint of concern in his voice despite being in a place like this. 

“Odin should know better,” the deep voice replied. “He knows we don’t like to be disturbed.” The uneasy feeling in your stomach intensified. 

“I understand your customs, but unfortunately my brother and I have run into a misunderstanding with one of your family clans. They believed us to be attacking but we were just trying to get to another area in Gundershelm. Understandably, they are upset with us and wish to attack Asgard. We’ve come here to inform you that they may come to you and rally for support but we want you to know that we are not hostile in any way towards your people,” Loki explained smoothly, never missing a beat. You had no idea how he was staying so calm at this moment.

“I cannot control what my brothers may do,” the voice told Loki.

“We know that. We’re here to confirm that relations between just us are still well.”

You saw a shadow move to your left and you snapped your head towards the movement. You tuned in your sixth sense but saw no one there. You then looked back forward in search for the source of the voice. Loki’s body in front of you glowed gold and off in the distance you saw another body, but glowing red, sitting with his legs crossed. He suddenly stood and walked towards you. You returned back to your normal senses and took a step towards Loki. You couldn’t help but start to feel a little nauseous. You wanted to leave. Something bad was going to happen. Loki turned his head slightly towards you, but kept his eyes trained on the shadow in front of him.

The source of the deep voice suddenly came into view, the fire casting minimal light onto him, but enough you could take in the troll. He stood at around five feet and he held an extremely mean expression on his face. His skin was a dark orange and took the texture of rocks. Hair covered his entire body, as if he had fur, and his eyes glowed a menacing yellow. Though he was short, he was incredibly bulky, with muscles underneath that could rival with Thor’s and enhanced the rocky texture of his skin. You suddenly saw another shadow move to your left and you again tried to find the source, but you came up with nothing. 

“By coming here, you are doing the opposite of that,” the troll answered. 

“I tried to warn Odin that you may become wary of our presence but he insisted that we meet with you face to face,” Loki told him.

“Well then, Odin should have listened to you. He knows we do not appreciate Asgardians coming into our territory.” The troll’s voice became rougher, anger starting to come through.

“We will leave as soon as it is confirmed that you are not planning on attacking Asgard.”

“We have no interest in your filthy city,” the troll spat at Loki. The corner of his lips then turned up, smirking. “At least, not at this moment.”

“As long as we are peaceful now, that’s all I need to hear.”

“You have my word that we will not attack Asgard,” the troll said, but you could detect in the tone of his voice that he was withholding a second part of that statement. “You may leave, Loki of Asgard.” 

You heart leapt and it took willpower not to just sprint out of the trolls’ den. You knew that there were more trolls hiding away, watching the two of you. You knew that with a single command, they would come out and attack you. 

Loki nodded his head and the two of you turned to leave, but the troll spoke again. “I said that Loki may leave, but not the woman.” Your stomach plummeted.

Loki turned to the troll. “We are peaceful. There’s no need to cause trouble.”

The troll chuckled darkly. “It’s amusing to hear those words come from the supposed God of Mischief. We will not attack Asgard, but it will require payment. Twice now, Asgardians have entered the domain of trolls, uninvited. You cannot expect to get away without punishment.”

“We will give you large amounts of money, if that’s what you desire,” Loki offered.

The troll gave him a sickening smile. “We have unlimited gold in our mines. Your money is worthless to us.” The trolls yellow eyes flickered over to you. “But your mate here will make a good addition to our collection and we will not take no as an answer. Bring the shackles.” 

You noticed Loki’s arm twitch towards you as you heard heavy footsteps approaching from your right, the sound of meatal chains clanging against itself coming towards you. You remembered Odin telling you that you may attack as long as it was in self-defense and so you prepared yourself for a possible fight. They may be stronger than you, but you were determined to find a way out of this den. 

The troll approaching you with chains was coming closer when Loki turned to the head troll. “Do not touch her,” he threatened. 

“I will do as I please if you wish for us to be peaceful with Asgard.” He paused and skimmed his eyes over you. “She looks quite durable. I hope that she can serve us for many years.”

When the troll holding the chains was only a couple of feet in front of you, you flicked out your hidden blades, determination on your face. The head troll clicked his tongue.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Big fellow over there isn’t too keen on that kind of behavior.” You suddenly heard another pair of footsteps coming towards you, his feet causing the ground to slightly shake. Though he was still short, he was had twice the muscular size of the head troll. “You have a few things to learn, but you’ll pick up quick” the head troll said to you. 

“Do what you must,” he finished, tossing his hand in the air and retreating back into the shadows. You then heard the footsteps of at least a dozen trolls now coming out of the shadows, all stalking towards you and Loki. 

“Evade. Do not directly attack,” Loki whispered in your ear before pulling out his dagger. You nodded your head and lunged into a fighting stance, preparing for the first troll to attack. 

The first troll barged at you with a wooden club wrapped in spikes. When he swung downwards you leapt to the side and rolled, the club forming a deep hole in the place where you had just been standing. Two more came running up behind you with swords. You continued to swiftly dodge their attacks, but you were never given an opening, an opportunity to do any damage to them. You sprinted around the den, trying your best to find any kind of opening. With four trolls on your trail, you scaled one of their huts, your feet slipping on the meat that was laid there. You fell on top of the rotting flesh with a grunt and your arm underneath you, forcing three of your fingers to bend completely backwards, snapping them.

Despite the screaming protests from your hands, you quickly took out several throwing knives and flung them at the trolls, but the knives just bounced off their rocky skin, leaving absolutely no damage. Two of them started to crawl up the hut, so you ran to the opposite side, slipping on the meat for a second time, sliding on your hip and off the hut. You ducked your head as you fell onto the dirt ground and rolled several times, causing your breath to be knocked out of you. As you were getting up, you looked up and saw a troll glaring at you, breathing hard out of his nostrils with his sword gripped tightly in his hand. You unsheathed your own sword, ready to defend yourself. With a yell, he swung his sword at you which you promptly blocked. You continued to parry with him up until another troll came running up to you, his sword raised. When you turned to him, raising your own arm to block him, the other troll slashed his sword against your side, causing you to be pushed backwards from the force. 

You rolled a few times as an intense, hot, burning sensation rocketed throughout your stomach. You automatically gripped your side with your open hand. When you pulled back, your entire hand was covered in blood. You looked down at your side and all you could see was a bloody mess, the signs of a gaping wound peeking through. 

“Motherfucker!” you yelled in shock. You heard the two trolls approaching you again. You looked up and saw one of them holding a smile.

“Enough of these games,” his deep voice said to you. 

Suddenly you the troll den in front of you disappeared and you were no longer laying in front of two trolls. Instead you were standing in a completely open, snow-covered field, the sky grey and covered in dark storm clouds. Despite there being a soft flurry of snow falling around you, you were sweating as if you were still in the forest. You looked down at your side, but there was no longer any wound. You wrinkled your brows. _What is happening? Where am I?_ You hadn’t passed out. You were well aware of your thoughts and actions and it still felt like you were in the forest. Something was off.

“Have fun,” you heard the troll voice say next to your head. You spun around but there was no one there. You skimmed the horizon of the snowy field, mountains towering off in the distance. Your heart plummeted when you realized where you were. _No…no…NO! Anywhere but here!_

“Give me back my vision!” you yelled at the trolls, realizing what was happening. They were forcing you to see this. You didn’t know how, but they brought you back to this moment in time. They were bringing your memories up to the surface. 

You turned around and saw a bloodied mass off in the distance, a stark contrast against the white of the snow. You breathing hitched and you crouched down, holding you head and squeezing your eyes shut. 

“NO! NO! GIVE ME MY VISION!” you yelled. _This isn’t real. This isn’t happening. This will all be over soon. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This…isn’t…real._

When you opened your eyes again, you had somehow been transported closer to the bloodied mass, forcing you to look at it. Tears started to stream from your eyes. 

The body was unrecognizable, but you knew exactly who it was. He was completely covered in blood. Layers of skin from all over had been peeled back, revealing muscle in some areas. Your order’s silver emblem stayed intact on his robes’ belt with blood splattered over it.

“NO! STOP! NO MORE!” you yelled, but your pleas weren’t being met. You could see blonde hair that was matted and dyed with the brown-red of his blood. You couldn’t help but sob at the sight of you. 

“This is all my fault,” you cried. “You could still be alive, if it weren’t for me. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.”

You suddenly felt a searing pain in the middle of your thigh and your sobbing mixed in with screaming. You looked down with your blurry vision, but there was nothing there. The burning feeling in your thigh intensified, but there was still no visible wound. Suddenly, the scene in front of you was completely taken away and you were presented with nothing but pitch blackness. You fell to your side into a fetal position and clutched your stomach. You gritted your teeth and tried not to cry out as the burning in your thigh worsened and the pain in your side began to return. 

You were completely encompassed in pain and you had no idea how to get out. You felt so trapped and you didn’t know how much more you would be able to take. Though your muscles burned and energy coursed through you, you felt so weak and tired at the same time. It was becoming harder and harder to stay conscious but you couldn’t control the rate you were slipping from reality. Soon, your agonizing thoughts became silenced.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ***Announcement*** I (unfortunately) have some bad news to deliver. I will no longer be uploading as frequently as daily anymore. I'm moving back to college tomorrow and the semester starts in a couple of days, so my schedule is going to become extremely busy. I've tried to get ahead as best I could with the chapters, but they're soon going to run out. So, that means I'm going to try my best to get two chapters out a week. I'm definitely not abandoning the story though, I PROMISE!  <3

“Stay with me. Come on, stay with me,” you heard a familiar voice say. Your thoughts were hazy and you were trying your hardest to place the voice, but you just couldn’t. You could feel yourself bobbing up and down repeatedly and that you were leaning against another body, but were so overpowered with pain, you couldn’t connect everything together and figure out what was happening. 

“I’m…in…so much…pain,” you mumbled.

“I know,” the voice spoke back. “Hold on just a little longer. Just stay awake. We’re almost there.”

“I…I need to save him. I need to go back and save him,” you said so quietly, you weren’t even sure you said anything.

“Who do you need to save?” the voice asked.

“Jakob. I need to save Jakob.”

The voice humored you and continued to ask questions. “Why do you need to save Jakob?”

“Because he’s in trouble,” you answered.

“From what?”

You finally processed that there was a slight breeze brushing up against your face. “From the bad guys. We always protect each other from the bad guys.”

“Who are the bad guys?”

You furrowed your brows. “I…I can’t…remember...,” you struggled to get the words out. A wave of agony washed over you and you gritted your teeth, trying your hardest not to cry. “I’m in so much pain,” you whimpered

“Shhh. It’s okay. We’re almost there. I promise,” the voice assured you. 

You were so disoriented, you were starting to find it difficult to stay awake again. At that moment, you would have even accepted death’s cruel blow if that meant an escape from the pain that were experiencing. Your mind started to slip once again, but you were brought back up by the voice calling your name.

“You need to stay awake. You go under again, I don’t know if you’ll come back,” the voice told you, worry filling the tone.

Why was this voice so concerned for you? Why should it matter to them if you wanted this to be your time to go? You had no one in this life. Your death would be insignificant and wouldn’t be a burden on anyone. The voice started to call your name again, this time with a hand gently shaking your body.

“Come on, don’t go quiet. Keep talking. It doesn’t matter what. Just keep talking,” the voice urged you.

“I…can’t…the pain.”

“Just give me one word at a time. Try your best.”

The voice was really starting to get on your nerves. You wanted whoever it was to stop telling you what to do. If you wanted to go to sleep, then you would do so.

“Shut…up,” you mumbled. 

The voice actually chuckled at you. “Keep going. Just a bit longer.”

“N-no,” you said. 

“No what?”

“I…won’t…keep…goi-,” you were interrupted when another sudden rush of pain coursed through you. 

Suddenly, you heard faint shouting in the distance but you had no idea what they were saying. The breeze against you face began to falter and you felt yourself being pulled off of something. The shouting voices became louder and you crinkled your brows in annoyance. There was no need to shout. It was starting to hurt your ears and it was causing a ringing sound to fill your head. You could feel yourself being carried as the voice spoke again.

“She’s been severely injured. Inform the infirmary.” You could hear armor running away from you as you continued to be carried.

“Just another minute. We’re almost there,” the voice said to you. You didn’t know if you could handle another minute, the pain was too much to bear. You began to give up on trying to stay conscious.

“No, no, no. Stay awake. We’re so close. Don’t you dare slip away,” the voice said to you, almost angry. _I’m sorry,_ you thought before everything went black.

~

You woke up feeling completely numb. You kept your eyes closed as you assessed what was occurring with your body. You could feel a slight pressure on the right side of your body, especially by your ribs and your thigh, but there was no pain. It was a weird sensation. You knew that if whatever was keeping you numb wasn’t there, you would be in extreme agony. You had a headache on top of the numbing and your mouth was completely parched, your throat burning. You heard the voice from earlier softly say your name and you furrowed your brows. _Who is this person and why won’t they go away?_ you irritably thought. 

You slowly opened your eyes and looked over to the source of the voice. Though your vision was blurry, you saw green eyes staring at you, filled with concern. It took you a minute to realize the person sitting next to you was Loki and that he had been the voice the entire time. _How didn’t I recognize him before?_ you wondered. 

“Where am I?” you croaked out.

“Back at the palace. In the infirmary,” Loki answered.

“How did I get back here?”

“I stole a horse,” he replied. 

A dozen questions buzzed through your mind. _How long was I out for? How did you manage to get me out of the den? How did you get me here so fast? What happened to the trolls? How angry are they at us? Are they going to attack Asgard now?_

You turned your head back and stared at the ceiling. You realized that you were laying in a comfortable bed with a blanket covering you, instead of a hard slab of stone like the last time you had been in there. 

“How bad is it?” you asked the ceiling. Though your question was vague, Loki knew what you meant.

“Seven broken ribs, a laceration that runs from your side and down your stomach, three broken fingers, massive blood loss, and a puncture wound in your right thigh,” Loki answered. 

“How long have I been here?”

“Several hours. You left surgery an hour ago.”

You turned your head to look at Loki again. You noticed that his clothes, his neck, and his hands were stained red, completely covered in what you assumed to be your blood.

“How long will I be in here?”

“They estimate three days. You should make a complete recovery. You’ll only be left with scars.”

“How long have _you_ been here?” you asked.

“I haven’t left your side,” he replied. You couldn’t explain the feeling that rushed through you at hearing those words. 

“I’m so stupid,” you angrily muttered. Confusion washed over Loki’s face.

“Why do you say that?”

“I let them gang up on me. I let them land a hit. I gave him an easy, wide opening to attack me. If I had been more careful this wouldn’t -,”

“Stop,” Loki forcefully said. “You had three trolls ganging up on you, on top of another four that were ambushing you from behind. There are gods who wouldn’t even been able to get out of that situation.”

“But if you hadn’t been there, I would have been dead. So I technically didn’t get out of that situation, at least not by myself.”

Loki sighed heavily. He was about to respond when the door opened and two healers entered. They both gave you a gentle smile as they walked up to the side of your bed. Loki immediately got up to make room for the healers and you watched him walk to the wall and lean against it, crossing his arms. You had a feeling that this wasn’t the first time he had to do this.

“We’re happy to see you finally awake. You gave us quite the shock when you came in,” one of the healers said. You didn’t answer as she wrote down some kind of information on a scroll, while the other healer ran her hands over your body, assessing your current condition. When the healer stopped writing on the scroll, she turned to you and gave you another gentle smile. “We need to change your bandages, miss,” she told you. “We have you under pain-numbing herbs and medicines, but you might feel a little pain when we move you.”

“That’s fine,” you said. She then pulled back the blanket that was wrapping you and you saw that they had placed an oversized shirt on you that stopped mid-thigh. You suddenly remembered your robes and you wondered what happened with them. You could see a bandage peeking through on your leg. She was about to lift the fabric up, but she hesitated, looking questioningly at Loki.

“He can stay,” you told her. She gave you a curious look before nodding her head. She pulled the nightgown up but stopped it right at your breasts. You looked down saw blood-soaked bandages wrapped around both your midsection and your entire thigh. The two healers slowly and very carefully bent your leg and you felt a numb, hard pressure shoot upwards. They started the process of the unraveling the bandage.

“The bleeding should subside in the next two hours,” one of the healers said as she peeled away the last layer, the dried blood causing it to slightly stick. You immediately went pale at what you saw. Your entire skin was matted with the dried blood and an inflamed wound several inches long had been stitched together, your skin puckered up, red and angry. You looked back at the ceiling and stared at it while they put more herbs on your wound and wrapped a fresh bandage over it. 

They then went to your shoulders and slowly guided you to a sitting position. You gritted your teeth and tried to push through the enormous weight that seemed to push on you, screaming at you to lay back down. One of the healers kept you sitting up and held your shirt, while the other began repeating the process around your stomach as she did with your leg. When she removed the bandage, you peeked down and immediately regretted it. A wound worse than what was on your leg was showcased and your eyes prickled, threatening to spill tears. You could tell you had lost several layers of skin and they had sewed what skin you had left shut. The puckered, swollen line traveled from the top of your side all the way down to the front of your hip bone. Your rib cage was also splattered in large, dark purple and blue spots that were extremely tender and didn’t seem to stop throbbing. You looked in another direction as she wrapped a new bandage around you. Throughout the entire process, Loki never once took his eyes off of you. 

The healers brought down your oversized shirt and gently laid you back down, putting the blanket back over you.

“Is there anything we can get for you?” one them asked while she returned to the parchment and began writing once again.

You realized that you were starving in addition to your parched throat. “Water…and food, please,” you said.

She nodded as she finished writing on the scroll. “I’ll be back shortly,” she announced before both the healers left your room. 

As soon as the door closed behind them, Loki immediately retook his seat next to your bed. You looked over and took in the sight of his clothes again. You gave him a small smile.

“Aren’t you going to change?” you asked.

“I will. I just wanted to make sure you would be okay,” he answered. You wondered why Loki was being so protective over you. You knew that anyone would be concerned with your condition, but the lengths that Loki was going, for you, was so uncharacteristic for him it made you a little wary. Though you could detect concern in his voice, he kept an inscrutable look on his face. 

“Were you scared?” you asked softly.

Loki watched your face for a few seconds before answering. 

“You’re familiar with the saying: You don’t realize the value of something until you lose it, correct?”

You nodded. "Of course." Loki took a deep breath, debating how much he should say.

“Today, I genuinely believed that you were going to die. I disagreed with Odin’s decision on sending us back to the domain to ensure peace. I tried to tell him that it would only anger them more, but he saw no other option. He didn’t want to put the people of Asgard at risk for an open attack.” Loki paused for a moment when he realized he was becoming angrier the more he spoke. He took another deep breath.

“When I looked over…and saw that you were lying on the ground…covered in blood…completely lifeless, I thought them to have already killed you. The…pain…that I felt at that prospect was something I’ve never experienced. It wasn’t until a moment later, I realized that you were still alive when they were laughing at the mental agony they were forcing you to experience. You wouldn’t believe the anger I felt at that moment. They eventually stopped the illusion when they thought you had died. They dumped your body at my feet, feeling that your death was sufficient payment for entering their territory. I had to…restrain myself…from killing them all right there. I knew that your health was the priority, not your avengement. I stole one of their horses that was tied in a nearby area of their den and had you riding in front of me. You were so…broken…and mangled. You had lost so much blood and weren’t coming to despite my attempts at awakening you.”

“When you had awoken and started to say how much pain you were in, you wouldn’t believe the…relief…and…happiness…that I felt. I knew at that moment you weren’t dead and that was all that mattered.” You had never seen Loki struggle so much with his words before. “I felt this need to stay by your side until I knew for sure that you would live through your injuries.” Loki paused again for a short moment before taking your hand within his own.

“In the beginning, you just an intriguing, mystery warrior who seemed to pop up out of nowhere in Asgard. All of sudden, here was this woman who came across my path, who had incredible abilities and kept her identity a secret, who seemed to play by her own rules, who went against Odin and Thor…You were practically gift-wrapped with my name on it. I knew you would be a valuable asset to my plans. I chose to use you because I wanted your abilities on my side. I knew that you would be able to aid me and that you could handle yourself if you ever got in trouble. I viewed you nothing more than a useful tool; a pawn in my game. But the more time I spent with you, the more I began to value who you were as a person, rather than just for your abilities.”

“I thought if something were to ever happen to you, I wouldn’t care. If I had to sacrifice you to get what I wanted, then so be it. But it soon became harder to swallow the idea. I don’t know why, but…I’ve grown quite attached to you…and I don’t know what kind of place I would be in right now if you had died today.”

You stared at Loki in stunned silence. Never before had Loki ever opened this much to you. Never has he sat down and directly told you how he was feeling and you weren’t sure how you were supposed to respond. 

“Loki,” you started but the healers came back at that moment, coming in with your food and water. Loki gave you a small smile before excusing himself and exiting the room all together. You stared at the door in shock. 

“Is everything all right, miss?” one of them asked as she helped prop you up to eat. 

“I…I don’t know,” you answered.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has it really been a week? 0.0 I'm so sorry!  
> I'm trying my best to produce as much as I can in my free time, but I also want to make sure it's the best stuff I can give you guys. :)
> 
> Also, I want to thank Lillokicat for providing me with information about Norse mythology and helping me point Loki's character in the right direction. She went above and beyond helping me with this story and has really helped me in coming up with the next story arc. So thank you ^.^

Your meal looked nasty, to put it bluntly. Even in the palace, it seemed that those who worked in the infirmary thought that patients liked to eat bland, slimy food that left a foul aftertaste in your mouth. You put the bowl to your face and took a sniff, immediately wrinkling your nose. You swirled the white, soupy mixture with your spoon, no longer feeling hungry. You put it on the nightstand next to you and instead drank the entire pitcher of water they had given you, feeling your dehydration slowly slipping away. When you placed the empty pitcher back onto the table beside you, you realized that you had let some dribble onto your oversized shirt. “Shit,” you mumbled, fanning out your shirt and blowing on it, trying to get the wet fabric to dry. 

At that moment, you heard a gentle voice clear their throat and your head snapped up. Your hand froze and your cheeks flamed when you saw Queen Frigga standing in the doorway. You dropped your shirt.

“Your majesty,” you said, slightly embarrassed. She gave you a small smile.

“It seems that we’ve made it a bit of a habit of only seeing one another after you’ve fallen ill,” Frigga said to you, walking over to Loki’s empty chair and gracefully sitting down. 

“I should hope that doesn’t continue, for my sake,” you lightly said back with a smile.

Frigga let out a small laugh. “Yes, I agree.” She paused for a short moment. “How is your condition fairing?” she asked.

“A bit sore, at the moment,” you replied.

Frigga gave you a gentle smile. “I know that your physical wounds will heal up in no time, but I am curious as to how you are cooperating with your mind.” 

You looked down and stared at the blanket covering the bottom half of you. “I was doing fine until my memories were forced back upon me by the trolls. I don’t know how they did it, but they brought me back to that time. They forced me to revisit that afternoon. But it was different from the other times my memories resurfaced. I wasn’t remembering it…I was reliving it.”

“Trolls are masters of illusions and magic,” Frigga began to explain. You looked back up at her. “They are able to use their magic to cause your senses to become disoriented and place a veil of delusion over your eyes, forcing you to see and feel whatever they desire. In your case, you were viewed as payment for your intrusion of their den. Most likely they knew you would be most insubordinate if they were to take you as a slave, so taking your life - something that comes from Asgard - was the next best payment in their eyes. I wasn’t present, but I can assume that they were able sense your mental weakness and used that to their advantage. In order to immobilize you, they brought forward your most painful emotion and memory.”

Your mind flashed back to the image of Jakob’s mutilated body laying against the thin layer of freshly fallen snow. The picture of his blonde hair dyed with his blood burned into your mind.

“It was…so real,” you said quietly, your voice cracking on the last word. “I knew that it wasn’t actually happening, but I still couldn’t control what I was feeling. The emotions were exactly the same from when it had first occurred. I felt so hopeless. I felt intense guilt. I felt extreme grief and sorrow. I felt like nothing could ever make me feel better.” A tear escaped from the corner of your eye and slid down your cheek. “With my emotions and my physical injuries combining as they did, I was genuinely willing to accept death. I thought that anything would be better than the physical and mental pain I was feeling…and if that had to be death, then so be it.” You hastily wiped the tear away when it hit your jaw.

Though your memory of riding back from the troll’s den was a hazy cloud full of pain and disorientation, you remembered thinking how your demise wouldn’t be a burden on anyone. How it would just be easier on everyone, yourself included. But then Loki had told you the pain he felt at the prospect of your death and how it would have affected him. _Is there someone really out there that actually cares for me?_ The only person who had given you love and made you feel like you mattered before was Jakob. Warmth, compassion, and kindness had always radiated off of him that seemed to fill your entire being.

 _Huh…who would have thought…out of all people who would start to fill in the void Jakob left…it would be Loki…_

“You mustn’t let your mind eat itself from the inside out, young one,” Frigga said compassionately, placing her warm palm on your forearm. “Though what the troll brought upon you was simply an illusion, the pain and memories you have are very real. Have you heeded my advice and spoken to someone about your past?”

You shook your head slightly. “I’m afraid that once I enter back into my past, I won’t be able to get out.”

“Yes, there is that possibility, but there is also the prospect that you will come out as a better person from it. Though you will always feel hurt at was has occurred, you will find yourself stronger overall. Just like the physical scars that will form on your body, your emotional scars will always be a constant reminder of what has happened, but it showcases that you survived and came out stronger than you were before.” 

You sat in peaceful silence, mulling the queen’s words over in your head. You vaguely remembered talking about Jakob when Loki was bringing you back to the palace, but you weren’t quite sure how much you actually admitted. 

If you were to sit down and tell someone your story, would it be Loki? Would he be the person that you would allow to learn everything about you? All your secrets, your mistakes, your family and friends, what occurred within the order? Would you be willing to spill your hidden history and desires to someone who could very easily use it against you?

“Very few people have ever escaped a troll’s den after they’ve been agitated. You were extremely lucky that they allowed for Loki to take your body,” Frigga added as the thought came to her. “Though I have a feeling he would have taken you anyways,” Frigga added with a slight laugh. 

“Have you spoken with Loki?” you asked.

“Not directly, no. He is currently speaking with Odin. He is quite upset at him for sending everyone back to the domain.”

“Have you heard any news from anyone else in the domain?”

“I haven’t. I’m assuming for now that no news is good news. I know that Thor is quite capable out there, especially with Sif by his side.”

You nodded your head. You were curious as to how everyone was handling the different troll clans. You wondered if they knew what had happened to you. If they didn’t, they would soon find out in a day or two when you and Loki aren’t there to meet up with them in the middle of the domain. 

You and Frigga sat in peaceful silence for a short moment before she suddenly asked you a question that took you by slight surprise.

“I’ve been most curious and I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what is occurring between you and my son?” Frigga asked. Heat slowly rose on your neck. 

“What do you mean?” you asked, feigning ignorance. 

“I have noticed that you and Loki have formed quite the partnership and I am uncertain if it is something that needs to be brought to my attention.” She gave you a smile. “Perhaps I’m being influenced by my job title, but I have been most concerned about both my sons’ lack of formal courting. They are of marrying age and yet neither of them have found perpetual mates. I have spoken to both my sons about this and I suppose I’ve been putting too much pressure on them, but there is also a pressure on Asgard for an heir.”

You wondered where Frigga was going with this. Was she expecting you to become married to Loki? You couldn’t help your heart skipping a beat at that thought. Never before had you seriously considered being married to another person. You had always assumed that you would never have to because of your position in the order. You never before could imagine ever finding someone you could love in that way, fully committing yourself to that person; it had always seemed like too much work for you. But could you actually do it…and with Loki?

 _No,_ you thought. _I couldn’t. I’m not in love with him…or… or am I? No, I’m not. I enjoy his presence but I don’t view him in that way,_ you told yourself firmly. But what if love wasn’t a factor in becoming married to a royal? Weren’t many marriages arranged by parents for financial and societal reasons? _There is no way I could even be considered._ As Loki so bluntly put it, he _was_ a prince and you had zero value in Asgardian’s society. As much as it stung for him to say it, you knew it were true that you were at the bottom of the barrel in Asgard. The prince certainly had no business or responsibility of forming any kind of friendship with you. You could only imagine how furious a king would be as his well-groomed princess was rejected for Loki’s hand when you were the one he chose. 

“I assume that they both need to find a wife who is from another royal bloodline, correct?” you asked Frigga, not realizing that you were secretly hoping that she would say no.

“Not necessarily,” Frigga answered. “All I wish for is that both my sons find a mate they love unconditionally and are happy with whom they choose. I don’t see someone’s status, but rather who they are as a person.”

“Pardon me, Queen Frigga. I don’t know if you’re hoping that I might be a possible wife for your son, but I have to tell you that I am not. Loki and I aren’t…like that.” You ignored the slight disappointment you felt at saying those words. “We are simply friends and partners for any assignment that King Odin may give us.”

“Is that so?” Frigga replied. “Well, if that’s the case, I will no longer bother you with this matter. Please, do not think me intrusive in your personal matters, but I found Loki’s sudden attachment to you interesting. From what I understood for quite some time, Loki was communicating with another woman and I thought he was finally considering to seriously start courting. Then you came along and I became unsure about his relations. I’ve tried asking him but of course he keeps it all locked away.”

Your stomach dipped and heat traveled up your neck when Frigga revealed that Loki had been communicating with another woman with the intentions of courting. Why was this first you were hearing of this? Your mind starting to race. You suddenly wanted to know everything about this other woman and how Loki currently viewed her. Though you knew it ridiculous to think such things, you couldn’t help yourself. 

“Who was this woman?” you asked, trying to keep your jealousy from slipping into your tone.

Frigga eyed you knowingly for a brief second before answering, “A Vanir goddess by the name of Gullveig.”

 _Why is it always a damn goddess?_ you thought angrily. 

“Can’t say I’ve heard the name before,” you replied, trying to sound dismissive. 

Frigga actually chuckled at your response. “Yes, well, she has, or I should say used to have, close relations with family. The reason why Loki’s communication with her peaked my interest is due to the distance we’ve had with her as of lately. I believed he was trying to rekindle relations with her, something I know that Odin would approve of wholly. Asgard and Vanaheim’s alliance has slowly been becoming unstable over the years; Gullveig being a main cause.”

“Hm,” you said. You tried to hide the immense jealousy you were feeling at that moment. _What’s with me? Stop it. You do not have a claim on Loki. There is no reason to feel jealous._ You began to get frustrated with yourself. _Stop feeling these silly emotions,_ you told yourself. _They will get you nowhere. Who Loki associates and communicates with is none of your business._

Frigga watched your face carefully, trying to figure out what you were thinking. You wondered for a brief moment if she had mentioned Gullveig in order to get you to feel jealous, to get you to admit that you liked Loki in that way. No, that wasn’t in her nature. That’s something Loki would do, not Frigga. 

Frigga put her hand on your uninjured thigh and smiled at you. “I must be on my way now. I wish you the quickest of recoveries,” she said. You became a little suspicious at Frigga’s sudden farewell and you watched her with friendly, narrowed eyes as she left your room, trying to figure out what she was up to.

The queen exited the room, quietly closing the door behind her with a ‘click’. _Why are things getting so complicated?_ you thought to yourself. You thought back to what seemed like ages ago when you lived in your small hut in the poorer district of Asgard. How you would intercept supply deliveries with others who were in a similar economic situation as you, and sell them off to make enough money for food for few days. You thought back to how you wondered how you were possibly going to rise up in power when you were stuck in such a rut. 

Never, would you have ever believed at the time you would go through the events you had. Never had you imagined that you would have confusing, complicated feelings for the prince. Never had you imagined that you would feel sympathetic towards him, Sif, Volstagg, and others. Never had you imagined that you would actually feel jealous of those whom Loki communicated with, especially when the possibility of marriage was involved. _What has happened with me?_

You sighed angrily and winced at the pain that blossomed across your belly. _Why couldn’t things be simple? Just black and white. Why are there so many damn grey and confusing areas? Why can’t Loki just say exactly how he feels about me? Why can’t I even figure out my own feelings?_ You decided you wanted to confront Loki. He couldn’t just say such puzzling, out-of-character things, suggesting the way he may feel and then just leave. _And…and I need to tell him how I feel,_ you thought. 

Your mind was set. You were going to find Loki.

You gradually propped yourself up on your elbows, making certain that you didn’t disturb your healing ribs. You continued to take slow, deep breaths as you pushed through the heavy pressure. You swung your left leg off the bed and used your right elbow to angle your body towards the side of the mattress. You then reached over and gently pushed your right leg towards your left, closing your legs together. Both legs were now hanging off the bed, the pressure increasing dramatically on your thigh, but you continued to breathe through it. 

You began to slide off the bed slowly, your bare feet soon making contact with the cool, stone floor. _Now for the hard part._ Trying your best to keep all your weight on your left leg, you placed your palms on the bed and began to push up. You gritted your teeth as a painful, hard pressure encompassed your midsection.

With sliding off the bed and pushing upwards at the same time, you slowly began to get up. You clutched the nightstand with a death grip, your fingers quickly becoming red as you tried to breathe through the pain. Your body screamed at you to lay back down, but you refused. You gained your balance on your left leg, keeping your right leg slightly bent. The longer you stood, the more the pressure became bearable. 

Taking a deep breath, you began to take the first step. Though your limp was quick, and your right leg only made contact with the floor for a brief moment, pain burst up your leg. You could feel blood rush your leg and your skin throb underneath the bandage. You couldn’t help but let out a whimper of pain as you regained your balance.

 _Maybe you should just go lay back down,_ a part of you thought. _No,_ you thought back determinedly. _I need to find Loki._

Suddenly a knock sounded on the door and a healer you hadn’t seen before came in. Her eyes widened when she saw you standing, holding onto the nightstand for dear life, your face pale and sweaty from working through the pain. She quickly rushed over to you. 

“Miss! You should not be standing right now! You could easily tear your stitches! You are in no condition to-,”

“I need to find someone,” you interrupted a little harshly, determined to get out of there. 

“Miss, you cannot leave the infirmary until we officially discharge you.”

“I need to find someone,” you repeated. You gave her a level look, but it didn’t faze her. Dealing with difficult patients was nothing new to her. 

“I hear you miss, but you need to lay back down. If you rip your stitches, you’ll be forced to stay in here longer. If you want, you can give me the name of the person you’re seeking and I’ll send your request to see them.”

You couldn’t help but blush. You didn’t know why, but you felt a little embarrassed and needy at calling for Loki, especially considering your reasons. You sighed.

“That’s all right,” you dejectedly said. The healer slowly helped turn you around and lay you back into the bed, propping you up against your pillows.

~

You had finally been released from the infirmary after three days, just as Loki had said, but you had spent the entire time drugged out of your mind. The healers had their suspicions that your first attempt at leaving the ward wouldn’t be you last, so they deemed it appropriate to keep you knocked out for your entire healing period to ensure that you wouldn’t further disrupt the process. So, for the several days that you were bedridden, you either slept or stared at the ceiling; seeing shapes and colors that weren’t actually there due to the herbs they forced you to ingest in order to immobilize you. 

When you had been awoken and the pain medications were on their last leg, you were informed that you were being discharged. You asked if anyone had come to visit, secretly hoping that Loki had returned, but you were soon filled with disappointment upon hearing that he hadn’t. However, you did discover that when everyone else had returned safely from the troll domain, Volstagg and Sif had come to see about your condition after hearing what happened with you. You felt touched at the fact that they had visited to ensure that you would be all right.

The first time you had risen from your bed, you found yourself pleasantly surprised when you discovered that you could stand on your leg with absolutely no pain. Though your range of movement was limited, you could walk around as if nothing happened. You wanted to regain the full mobility of your muscles as quickly as possible after all the time you had wasted away in bed. You desired to start immediately to build back up their strength, but the healers informed you to not work them too vigorously, suggesting that you to take it rather slow the first couple of days. As you left the infirmary, the woman sitting at the main desk returned your robes to you, completely repaired and cleaned of all blood stains.

It didn’t take long until you found yourself outside, soaking in the sunlight that grazed your skin, inhaling the fresh air that had been taken away from you for three days. With your hair pulled back and your face drawn towards the sky, you took in the full sensation of being back outdoors. 

You had one foot against a wall of stones that was surrounding a giant area of the palace’s back gardens, stretching out your calf. You were wearing your tight breeches and shoes fit for sprinting with just a sports bra, custom made by Aidrith, as the fabric from your tunic seemed to only irritate your healing stomach. The stitches on your leg and midsection had all dissolved by this point, leaving you with two extended and inflamed lines scarring your skin forever. Your ribcage was still splattered in bruises, but they were now a yellowy-green, slowly but surely healing. 

You rolled out your neck and shoulders before doing a quick skip into your run around the palace’s gardens. You immediately felt a stabbing pain in your right thigh every time your leg pounded against the ground, but you gritted your teeth and worked through it, using the ache as motivation to keep going. You could feel your heart begin to work double time to keep the blood and oxygen flowing throughout your body, especially around your wounds. Your ribcage screamed at you to slow down and catch your breath, your lungs filling too quickly for it to accommodate. You ignored all the protests of your body and pushed through it, anxious to return to your previous physical condition. 

You were on your twenty-seventh lap of the gardens when you saw a group of four figures approaching on one of the paths that lead towards the palace. You narrowed your eyes and winkled your brows, watching them carefully, trying to decipher who was coming. You noticed that there was a cloaked woman in the front of the group, clearly in charge of the people whom she was with. You made sure to keep an eye on the group in case they were a possible threat, considering the guards that were stationed on the garden’s back gates weren’t taking any precautions with these unidentified guests. 

You suddenly saw Odin, Thor, and Loki exit the palace and start walking towards the group. Now you really were curious. You saw the womanly figure in the front give a slight curtsy to Odin while Thor and Loki both kissed the back of her hand. They all joined together in one group and started to walk towards the gardens, Odin beginning to chat to her with a serious expression on his face while Loki, Thor and her three men followed close behind. _Who in the world is this woman?_ you wondered. You made sure that your running didn’t falter, continuing on with your pace and working through your injuries. 

You soon found yourself on the same path as the group, working your way towards each other. You slowed down to a light jog, wondering if Odin would want you to stop and greet this anonymous visitor. As you got closer, you realized that you were completely covered in sweat, your forearms, forehead, and calves glistening in the sun’s light. You were in no condition to meet someone at that moment, especially if this was a person of importance. 

Odin came to a stop as you approached, the rest of the group following suit as well, his pause in walking indicating that he wanted you to cease your running. You slowed your jogging into a walk, wiping your forehead with the back of your arm to get rid of the sweat that had accumulated on your face. You tried your best to ignore Loki’s intense gaze on you and simply focused all your attention at Odin and the visitors. As you looked over the cloaked woman, trying to get a view of what she looked like, you began to feel an uneasy aura that oozed from her. 

“And who is the mystery runner?” a slightly accented voice asked from underneath the cloak. 

“She is a part of my elite forces, working as punishment for trying to steal the Sphere of Ogtif,” Odin answered. 

“Interesting how you brought an enemy on your side, Odin,” the mystery woman replied. “I suspect that another had involvement in convincing you to agree to an arrangement that could have many opportunities for betrayal. You’ll have to tell me how you did it, Loki,” she said without ever moving her head, clearing watching you carefully the entire time. You narrowed your eyes at her, wondering how she should could have possibly figured out that it was Loki behind getting you onto Odin forces.

“Pardon me, I’m being most rude,” she added. She brushed back the hood of her cloak and shook out her hair, presenting you with a woman that could easily rival looks with Freyja. She had jet black, loose curls that reached the middle of waist that was so dark it gave off a slight blue tint. Her eyes were an intense shade of purple that was lined in dark charcoal, her brow covered in bangs. Her facial features were absolute perfection, as if they had been meticulously sculpted. Her lips were full and her button nose was sloping at the perfect angle. She held out her right hand.

“I’m Gullveig.”


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I (again) really want to thank LilLokiCat for providing me info about Norse mythology as well as helping me edit so that I'm able to give you guys the most accurate story! :)

“Do not shake her hand,” Loki suddenly said to you as you reached out your own towards her. You glanced at him, confused, before looking down at Gullveig’s hand and seeing a faint purple glow coming from her palm. Gullveig pouted at Loki.

“Don’t ruin the fun for me, Loki,” she whined. Loki simply gave her a bored expression in return. 

“Gullveig, you are here on business,” Odin interjected as Gullveig smoothed her expression. “Please refrain from causing trouble in my home.”

She gave Odin a wry look before turning her eyes onto you. “Of course, Odin. I’ll be sure to stay on my best behavior,” she said sarcastically. She looked you once over, raising a perfectly groomed brow.

“Impressive battle wound,” she commented on your stomach’s scar as she cocked her head slightly to the side. “Shame that it’ll be there forever though,” she sighed dramatically. “I’m sure you were quite beautiful before you got it.”

You raised your brows and huffed out a breath in disbelief. You held your tongue from cursing her out in front of Odin and simply gave her a forced smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” you said back with false sincerity.

“Ah! She speaks!” Gullveig exclaimed. “I was wondering for moment if you were a mute.” She then turned to Odin. “I’m bored with her. May we continue on with our conversation from before?”

Odin’s eye flickered to you for a brief second. “Of course. As I was saying, Asgardian law requires quite the stipulations in the cases of -,” You tuned out Odin as the group began to walk forward once again. 

You tried to meet Loki’s eyes, but he completely ignored you, keeping his attention on Odin’s words and walking right by you. You felt a little hurt at his cold-shoulder, clenching your hands into fists.

You huffed out a breath before turning around and continuing on with your run in the opposite direction.

~

“You are up and walking, m’lady! I am most joyous to see so!” Volstagg exclaimed at you, when he saw you enter in the kitchen. He quickly rose from the bench he was sitting on and wrapped his massive arms around you, picking you up for a hug. You felt the air in your lungs squeeze out of you and you had to ignore the pain that shot across your ribs.

“Nice to see you too, Volstagg,” you breathed out, talking made difficult due to restrictive arms crushing you.

“Volstagg, put her down. You’ll injure her again,” you heard Sif say from behind him. Volstagg plopped you back onto the ground.

“I’m not that fragile,” you mumbled as you sat down, taking a seat next to Volstagg and across from Sif, piling your plate with food.

“No, you are not, m’lady! How many trolls were ganging up on you? Seven, if I remember correctly? And here you are now to tell the tale!” Volstagg said merrily before tearing a piece meat off a bone with his teeth.

Sif gave Volstagg’s eating a look of disgust before turning to you. “How are your injures fairing? We came by to visit but you were fast asleep.”

“Poked you a couple times, didn’t even budge,” Volstagg added with a mouth full of food.

“Ribs are a little tender. Scar’s a bit nasty,” you said before taking a bite of your own food, savoring the bite, realizing how much you missed the taste of real food.

“Well I’m glad you’ve made a complete recovery,” Sif said kindly to you. “We were concerned when you and Loki hadn’t met up with us. Given Loki’s past, we were a little worried that he might have done something to you.”

“He was actually the one who saved my life,” you said.

Volstagg sighed. “I don’t think anyone will ever know Loki’s true motives. Kid is so secretive,” he said before tearing another piece of meat.

“I’m certain he would love being called ‘kid’ too,” Sif said, smiling.

You couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, picturing his reaction in your head.

“So I take it that you were all successful in talking to the troll clans?” you asked Sif and Volstagg.

“Quick and easy!” Volstagg exclaimed. You furrowed your brows slightly, wondering how the clans they were assigned to could have been docile.

“Thor, Freyja, and I encountered one particular clan that wasn’t too keen on the fact that we were there, but we were able to leave without any altercation,” Sif told you.

“If you had been successful on all your assignments, then why did Loki and I experience such hostility on the first one?” you asked them.

Sif and Volstagg gave each other a look before Sif turned to you and Volstagg returned his attention to his plate.

She looked slightly uncomfortable. “This isn’t known to be certain, but we speculate that Odin assigned Loki to the more…bad-tempered clans, which are located in the forest, on purpose.”

You looked back at her confused. “What would make him do that?”

Sif shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, I don’t want to speak ill of my king, but he tends to be a bit callous when it comes to Loki. Likes to give him the more hostile and dangerous assignments, in order to give his ‘silver-tongue’ a test. When Loki was growing up, Odin didn’t really appreciate him finding a niche more in magic and literacy rather than following Thor’s path in combat and warfare. So he sends Loki to particularly difficult missions with the hope of failure, so that he could prove his point that magic is better suited for women.”

“There’s sexism in magic?” you asked in disbelief.

“Unfortunately. Loki used to be teased quite a bit for it. While kids carried wooden swords and shields, he always had a book in his hand. No one can really say anything to him now considering he’s gotten quite powerful in it and can definitely take it out on the person, but back then, there wasn’t much he could rebuttal with.”

“That is why he is most close with Frigga,” Volstagg added. “Probably the most loving and caring woman you’ll ever encounter. While Odin tried to push Loki away from magic, saying that a son of his delving into silly tricks would bring him shame, Frigga encouraged him to explore the area, saying that a person’s ability to do magic is not defined by one’s gender. She then personally helped him embrace his talents and taught a lot of what he knows today.”

“I had no idea,” you said quietly, looking down at your half-eaten meal.

“Well, it’s not like Loki is the most open person,” Sif joked, giving you a small smile.

You returned her smile, pushing the food on your plate around with your fork. You suddenly burned with curiosity, wanting to know more about Loki’s childhood, but you felt that the best person to tell you such things would be Loki himself, not Sif and Volstagg. You instead asked a question that had been nibbling on the back of your mind.

“What do you know of Gullveig?” you asked them.

Volstagg and Sif once again exchanged an inscrutable look between each other. “She’s arrived today, hasn’t she?” Sif asked you.

You nodded your head. Suddenly, a plate full of food was placed next to yours and a blonde haired man sat next to you. “If m’lady cannot handle a few moments with Freyja, I could only imagine how you’ll react in Gullveig’s presence,” Fandral teased, flashing you a smile and reaching for a fork.

“She’s already taken an attempt to insult my appearance after a minute of meeting her,” you told them.

Sif snorted. “I’m not surprised. She is the most vain, greedy, self-obsessed, who-,”

“Sif!” Volstagg cut her off, chuckling slightly.

Sif crossed her arms and shifted in her seat. “I don’t get why Odin has allowed her to come back to Asgard. There is not a reason in all the Nine Realms that I would accept.”

“How about becoming engaged to Loki,” Fandral offered.

You dropped your fork with a loud clatter.

All three of them looked over at you. Your cheeks burned red as you cleared your throat and apologized. You grabbed your mug of water and chugged it down, pleading your cheeks to cool down.

“Engaged?” Volstagg asked. “I was unaware that Loki and Gullveig had even resumed communication with one other, never mind were planning on being be wed.”

You put your mug down on the table with a little more force than intended.

“Apparently it’s an arrangement that’s been going on behind closed doors for quite some time now,” Fandral explained.

Sif clucked her tongue in disapproval. “Eck. The last thing we need is for her to marry into the family and officially become a part of Asgard’s politics. She causes nothing but trouble.”

“You have to admit though,” Fandral began. “They do seem like the perfect match for one another. Both are extremely intelligent-,”

Sif interrupted with a huff and Fandral gave her a small smile.

“As much as you wouldn’t like to admit it, Sif,” Fandral continued. “Loki’s involved in magic, while Gullveig’s specialty is sorcery; add that to the fact that they were both taught by Frigga, and that their…antics…can be similar. If any person could handle Gullveig it would be Loki. Perhaps this may even remove some of the tension between Vanaheim and Asgard of late, which I would assume is the main reasoning behind it,” Fandral finished.

“Gullveig was taught by Frigga?” you asked, surprised.

“Loki and Gullveig were quite the childhood friends,” Sif said. “Believe it or not but we used to be well acquainted with her. Gullveig was a fairly lost child, confused about her natural powers, unable to have complete control over them. The Vanir had to swallow their pride and send her to Asgard knowing that Frigga’s compassion and knowledge would be the most suitable environment for her. Naturally with Loki studying magic, they quickly became friends. She seemed to be a sweet girl, however when they became teenagers she quickly changed and did some pretty inexcusable things,” Sif practically spat out.

You crinkled your brows in curiosity. “A topic better suited for another time,” Volstagg said to you, giving you a gentle smile.

“So, uh, when’s the wedding?” you asked bitterly.

“My guess is sometime in the next couple of weeks,” Fandral answered.

“I wonder if Freyja knows about this,” Sif speculated.

Volstagg belted out a laugh. “I have a feeling she won’t be too keen on this marriage.”

“Freyja and Gullveig don’t have the most peaceful of relations,” Fandral automatically explained to you.

Sif let out a humorless laugh. “What relationship between Gullveig and another isn’t stained by her personality? Forget about Asgard, her own home of Vanaheim has trouble swallowing her.”

Fandral eyed you curiously. “You’ve been awfully quiet over there. Do you not approve of the engagement either, m’lady?” Fandral asked you.

Heat traveled up your neck. You realized that they had no idea what has been occurring between you and Loki.

“She’s just jealous,” you heard a familiar voice say. Freyja sat down next to Sif with just a bowl of chopped fruit. She looked around the table in false surprise. “What? You guys don’t know?” She looked over to you. “They seriously don’t know?” her tone of surprise becoming a little more genuine.

“What don’t we know?” Sif asked.

Freyja simply smirked to herself. “Huh. Guess it isn’t as obvious to everyone else,” she said before piercing a piece of fruit with her fork. Sif looked between you and Freyja with confusion on her face. You went to staring at your plate, continuing to push the food around with your fork.

“What are we missing here?” Volstagg asked.

Suddenly realization washed over Sif’s features. “Oh, no,” Sif said, turning to stare at you with an expression that bordered on pity. “It all makes sense now,” she said, mostly to herself.

Volstagg growled in his chest. “What’s going on?” he asked, clearly frustrated.

“Nothing of real value,” you interjected, hoping that it would cease the conversation.

Freyja snorted. “Don’t lie to yourself like that. I’m actually surprised it’s gone this long without getting everyone’s attention.”

You glared at Freyja, willing her to shut up.

“Though if it makes you feel any better, I would much rather you be with him than Gullveig. Talk about a short-tempered bitch,” Freyja said irritably before eating another piece of fruit.

Fandral looked at you in slight shock. “M’lady, is this true?”

“We’re friends,” was all you said.

Freyja snorted again while Volstagg let out a big laugh. “Aha! I see now! You and Loki, m’lady? Really?” He wrapped a giant arm around and pulled you close. “How did I not notice before now?!”

“What I’ve been trying to say,” Freyja mumbled into her bowl.

“There’s nothing between me and Loki,” you said.

“Don’t deny it, lass!” Volstagg said happily.

You felt an impulsive need to get away from the situation. “I need a moment to myself,” you excused yourself, standing from the bench suddenly. You swung your legs over the wooden seat and quickly made your way to the kitchen’s exit. You couldn’t bear sitting underneath everyone’s gazes for much longer, embarrassment and disappointment filling your entire being.

You were walking quickly down the different halls, making your way back to your chambers, when you suddenly heard Frigga’s soft voice coming towards you. You were keeping your ears peeled when you saw Loki, Gullveig, and Frigga turn the corner and begin to walk towards you.

You saw that Gullveig had taken off her cloak and was now sporting a skin-tight, dark blue dress, her breasts spilling out from the top with a giant jewel-encrusted necklace stopping right before them. She had her arm locked within Loki’s, listening to Frigga.

“I know that we didn’t leave on such a good note before, Frigga,” Gullveig began to reply. “But I’m here to tell you that I have seen the error of my ways and I wish nothing more than to become the best daughter-in-law I can. I love your son with all my heart. I always have,” she said.

You immediately curled your hands into fists and desired nothing more than to tackle her right there and then. Though Gullveig and Frigga hadn’t noticed you approaching yet, Loki’s eyes had quickly met your own. Though his were completely expressionless, yours conveyed that you were obviously hurt with Loki’s sudden partnership.

You looked away, hoping to pass by Frigga without any conversation, however she soon saw you and gently called your name. You reluctantly slowed down and stopped beside them.

Gullveig repeated your name, testing out. “Huh, so that’s your name?” Her eyes quickly flickered over to Frigga before giving you a big smile. “So foreign and beautiful. You’ll have to tell me where it originates. I believe I detect some Midgardian influences.”

You once again bit your tongue, not responding to Gullveig, afraid that you would say something that you would later regret.

Frigga eyed the scar that was showcased on your belly. “Your wound looks much better, young one. I’m assuming that you’ve had a successful recovery, then?” she said kindly to you.

“Yes, I have, your majesty. Thank you for your visit the other day. It was most helpful and comforting,” you thanked her with a genuine smile.

She returned your smile. “I’m glad to hear it,” she replied. She then looked over at Loki before turning back to you.

“Pardon us, but we have much to discuss. Much has happened rather quickly, I’m sure you’ve heard.”

“Yes, I have,” you said, giving a dirty look to Loki and Gullveig. “I’ll leave you all to it.”

Frigga smiled at you before turning to face Loki and Gullveig. Before turning away from them, you shot Gullveig a glare, wishing nothing but a horrible demise on her. As you began walking back down the hall, you suddenly felt your feet slide out from underneath you. You landed hard on your hip, causing your breath to be knocked out of you.

You looked down and noticed a thin sheet of ice on the palace’s floor in just your area. When you looked back up confused, you saw that the hand behind Loki’s back was icy blue with white spots, slowly beginning to return back to his original color. You saw a smile tugging on the corner of his lips as he began walking with Gullveig and Frigga once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Hm? Plot twists? *twirls evil mustache*


	31. Chapter 31

"Careful…careful," you mumbled to yourself as you slipped your robes over your head and brought it down across your bandaged abs. Though the extra layer was now allowing you to wear your robes over your wound, it caused the area to feel restricted as it limited your movement. You had fallen asleep immediately after returning to your room the night before, waking up the next day to the sunlight pouring through the windows, unfortunately reminding you of the previous day’s events.

You were swinging your belts across your waist and buckling them when you heard a knock on your door. You walked over and opened it, immediately twisting your face into one of annoyance.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Freyja said to you, walking right by you and inviting herself into your chambers. She sat down in one of the plush chairs by the fireplace with a sigh. You saw that she had placed a book, encased in red and gold binding, on her lap.

"Why would you expect any different?" you asked, walking over to her and crossing your arms.

"Because I'm here to help you," she said simply, looking down at her nails, admiring them from all angles.

"You've helped enough, thanks." You stepped to the side and gestured to the door with your hand. "Now, please leave."

Freyja narrowed her eyes at you. "You seem to have forgotten that I'm a deity."

"What does that have to do anything? That I can't kick you out of my own room?"

Freyja sighed heavily. "First off, you're just borrowing this room; it technically belongs to Odin. And second, that's not what I meant. Are you not familiar with my titles?"

"Of course I know your titles," you replied, annoyance evident in your tone.

"Then you would know that I'm here to help you," she said back simply.

You huffed out a breath as you sat down in a chair adjacent to her’s, crossing both your arms and legs. You began shaking your foot repeatedly back and forth.

Freyja gave you a smile. "Good!" She shifted in the chair, straightening her back as she inched towards the edge of the seat.

“Before I start, you must first promise me that you’ll keep your mouth closed. You mustn’t tell others of the information I’m about to reveal.”

“Sure,” you said dismissively, thinking her over-exaggerating the importance of her announcement.

She gave you a stern look. “I’m being serious. You have to genuinely promise me.”

You threw up your hands. “Okay. I promise I won’t say anything to anyone.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Especially to Loki.”

Now you were curious.

“Especially to Loki,” you repeated.

"Alright then," she began, nodding her head and shifting in her seat once again. “It’s difficult to find the right place to start, so I’m just going to tell you more about me first.”

You had to hold back the insult that bubbled up to your tongue when you heard her choice of words.

“As implied with my titles, I wish for everyone to find the right partner...which, yes, even includes you," she added when you raised a brow at her.

"I love Loki and Thor dearly; they've always been like brothers to me. But I've been finding it curious how neither of them had found someone that was most suitable for them yet. They've had their past dalliances of course, but nothing that's ever blossomed into something more. With Thor, I already know that he and Sif secretly fancy one other and will join together in the future, though neither of them quite realize it yet. But with Loki, it's a little trickier."

"You see, Loki is excellent at disguising his true feelings. He's had to learn to be based on his childhood. So, whenever I try poking my head into his emotions, he immediately blocks me out, restricting access or giving me a false emotion to read. But he forgets that I can also sense his relationships between people, something he has no ability of removing or disguising from me. And I have to tell you...you're different in his eyes. Though we've had quite the rocky start and I may not thoroughly enjoy your presence all the time, I still care about your happiness when it comes to love. And I know that you're in love with Loki."

You opened your mouth to protest, but Freyja quickly interrupted. "I know you're going to deny it, which it understandable. You have yet to come to that conclusion yourself. But don't forget that I'm always one step ahead of a future relationship. Which is why I'm here. Gullveig is an evil bitch," she concluded.

You snorted. "I kind of came to that conclusion myself."

Freyja shook her head. "No, you don't understand. I'm being absolutely serious when I call her evil...and a bitch."

You couldn't help but let out a small laugh, which surprisingly Freyja returned.

"Gullveig has never really been liked, even with her own people. She's too much of a trouble-maker. Though I guess you could also argue that Loki is the same way," she said with a humorless laugh. "But she's different from Loki. While Loki's antics are rooted from something deeper, he isn't an evil person. He's simply...misunderstood. Gullveig on the other hand acts purely on self-interest and on the desire for more power, taking great pleasure in other's misfortunes. She's done some pretty inexcusable things in the past."

“What exactly has she done?” you asked warily.

Freyja took a deep breath before starting. “Well, it all started when she used to live here, becoming educated underneath Frigga’s guidance. She and Loki would constantly play pranks on Thor, Frigga, and many of the palace workers whenever they learned some kind of new magic. They were always harmless though, never resulting in something more than embarrassment or a small bruise. But the older they got, the more Gullveig deviated away from Frigga’s teachings and explored…darker…topics on her own.”

“It’s complicated to explain, but Gullveig is one of the few who were born with a natural talent for sorcery and it unsurprisingly got to her head quickly. Gullveig began to become more and more defiant against Frigga while trying to pull Loki away from her teachings as well, attempting to convince him to join her in the areas that she was interested in. He naturally refused as it would go against his mother’s teachings and I think that is what started a majority of the resentment between Gullveig and Frigga.”

“In what would normally take years for someone to master, it took only a few months for Gullveig to begin controlling dark magic. She frequently challenged Frigga’s ideals and morals, always claiming that she was wasting her magic ability that would be better suited for other purposes. Gullveig, even then, had a very convoluted, twisted way of looking at the world, to an extent no one can quite completely understand or sympathize with.”

“The pranks Gullveig would play started to become worse, something that even concerned Loki. Instead of people having a raincloud following them or Loki pretending to be someone’s twin, Gullveig would pull enchantments over people causing them to purposefully hurt themselves. There were cases of broken legs, missing fingers, torn muscles, and pulled teeth just to name a few.” Freyja paused. 

“And…one day… she took one enchantment way too far. She thought it would be most amusing to have one of the guards walk to the tallest tower of the palace and for for him to continue walking once he reached the edge, resulting in her first kill.”

“This was one of the rare times that an event caused Frigga becoming infuriated. I didn’t personally witness it, but I’ve heard the tale so many times now and it’s a memory burned in a lot of people’s minds. Frigga, being her teacher, felt responsible and guilty for Gullveig’s actions. She felt like she had failed as both an instructor and as a mother, as she viewed that she was Gullveig’s only mother-figure in life. So after hearing the news of what she did, Frigga ordered for her to come to the throne room to be tried for her actions. Gullveig acted bored and uninterested the entire time Frigga was reprimanding her actions, only further causing Frigga’s anger.”

“At the end of her speech to Gullveig, Frigga offered to give her another chance to redeem herself. She would have to throw away all her dark magic books and swear to never use her enchantments again if she wanted to continue living and learning in her home.”

Freyja laughed once, humorlessly. “Even when Frigga is furious, she still doesn’t have to heart to condemn someone who was like a daughter to her out on the streets,” Freyja added as the thought came to her.

“This proposal led to a horrible argument between the two with Gullveig calling Frigga ‘pathetic’ and ‘incompetent’,” Freyja continued. “She challenged her love towards Loki claiming how she was most unfit to be his mother and that she didn’t deserve to have any children. She claimed that she was purposely making her and Loki weak, setting them both up for nothing but failure in life. Her words nearly teared Frigga in two. She knew exactly where to attack Frigga and what words to use that would cause her the most pain. Gullveig fled from the palace later that day and hadn’t reared her head back in Asgard until yesterday.”

“From the time that Gullveig had left the palace until now, she has been the cause of three different wars in Vanaheim, she’s murdered hundreds of people for sport, placed enchantments over people against their free will, and has gained a bit of a nasty following. She takes great pleasure in others’ demises, purposely causing the suffering of thousands of people, whether that’s through diseases, forced starvation by destroying crops, or torturing them both mentally and physically with her sorcery. She’s incredibly vain, concerned more for her own appearance rather than the value of another person’s life and she has this intense obsession with gold, collecting every single piece she can get her hands on. If she had to murder someone to get the coin in their pocket, she would do so. She craves absolute power and would do anything to get what she wants, no matter the consequences. She’s a master manipulator, especially when her sorcery is involved. She is one of the main reasons relations between different kingdoms have been becoming increasingly unstable.”

Freyja sighed. “No one understands why she’s done such things and I don’t think anyone ever will. There’s no excuse for her actions. No backstory or event that would explain how she is the way she is. She just has a cruel and sickening perspective on life. The…gratification…that she takes in her actions is revolting. Many wonder how such a beautiful woman could do such foul things.”

You sat in stunned silence, having no words for what you had just heard. Freyja sighed again delicately.

"I’ve been trying to figure out why Loki and Gullveig have become engaged so quickly. From what I’ve gathered, Loki did contact her himself initially with the intentions of courting her, perhaps hoping to put a stop to anything she might be planning on doing in the future. By marrying her, he would be able to try and relieve the tension between the kingdoms and get her behavior under control; an act that Odin would wholly approve of.”

“I’m also certain that Loki was thinking that she would be a suitable mate for him. Despite her past actions, she’s still incredibly intelligent and skilled in magic, not to mention beautiful, even if it’s only on the outside. She could challenge him intellectually as well as help him get away with some of his own mischievous ideas. Though he would want her to become less sadistic, he would still find her mercilessness useful. However, with Loki contacting Gullveig, he opened the door for her to come in and start executing her own plans. I don't know how much of the engagement is Loki's free will, but I do know that Gullveig is slowing pacing her influence over him.” Freyja paused for a second and mumbled, “For someone so clever he can be quite stupid at times.”

"Wait, Gullveig is putting _Loki_ under an enchantment?" you asked, surprised.

Freyja gave a small chuckle. "Goes to show how powerful she really is. If Loki, _The God of Mischief_ , can't fully detect what's happening, then we're all doomed. I can only imagine how bruised his ego will be when he finds out that Gullveig had been influencing him."

"Why don't we just tell Loki what she's doing to him?" you asked.

She shook her head. "No use. It would be like talking to a brick wall. He won't understand what you're saying and just deny all accusations."

"How did Gullveig even come here the first place? She can't influence Loki long distance can she?" you wondered aloud.

"That I have no idea. Though she's extremely powerful, I am uncertain of her limits. She could very well have.” Freyja sighed angrily. “You won’t believe how frustrated I am with him. When you all had come to Vanaheim to fight the Marauders, I was so surprised when I detected that he was feeling genuine happiness. Something I haven’t seen him feel in quite a long time. He, of course, shut off all emotion when he realized I was trying to figure out the cause of his contentment and continued to block me. It wasn’t until Frigga’s birthday ball, I noticed that Loki was feeling upset with himself. I asked him for a dance, hoping that I could prod at him and get him to open up at what had happened, but of course, he revealed nothing. It wasn’t until I had interrupted the two of you when it had hit me. I was angry with myself for not being able to figure it out sooner, but I also couldn’t help but find it amusing as well. It was so blatantly obvious what was happening between the both of you and you were _both_ denying it.”

You opened your mouth to respond, but she interrupted, still caught up in her own thoughts.

“He’s worse than you are when it comes to this, you know. I think Loki denied and questioned it more than you. Stubborn man. Heaven forbid he listens to his heart rather than his brain for once…”

Freyja looked up at you and gave you an encouraging smile.

"But do not fear. You're not alone in disagreement with this engagement. Sif and the Warriors Three obviously don't approve, as you saw last night. I know Frigga disapproves, but she won't say anything to Loki if he says that this was his decision." Freyja paused. "Sometimes there's something known as being too nice, your majesty," she mumbled to herself.

"So what do we do?" you asked.

"We start with this," she said, picking up the book that had been resting on her lap and gave it to you. You flipped through the pages and saw that it was written in a language you didn't recognize.

"Um, I don't really see how reading a book I can't understand is going to be of much help," you said.

"That's because you're not going to read it. You're going to return it to the library."

"How in the world is that goi-"

"Just trust me," Freyja interrupted, standing. "I would go soon too, if I were you," she advised before leaving your room.

You flipped the book over in your hand, confused at Freyja's sudden farewell and strange directions.

You sighed before standing and heading over to the library.

~

As soon as you passed through the doors the scent of ancient pages and candle wax filled your nose. You made your way to the back end of the library and stopped at the giant mahogany desk with the same old man from before sitting behind it, writing in the ledger once again as if he hadn't even moved from the last time you saw him.

"Um, I'm here to return this?" you said, your uncertainty with Freyja's weird instructions turning your statement into a question.  

The old man actually looked up at you and eyed the book in your hands. "Ah, Freyja said you would be coming," his sandpaper voice scratching out at a slow speed.

He pointed with his quill to an area behind you. "You are to bring that to a resident. Eighteenth row, all the way at the end," he said, bringing his head back to down to the ledger, continuing to write.

Instead of raising questions, you just did what you were told, hoping that that these strange directions would soon pay off.

You walked down the main aisle, counting the rows of shelves as you went, until you reached the eighteenth. As soon as you turned to walk down it, your heart plummeted.

Sitting in one of the plush chairs by the fire was Loki with Gullveig straddling his lap, kissing him heatedly while clearly grinding up against him. She had her hands resting on his chest while his were slipped underneath her dress. The book that he had obviously been reading before was tossed aside.

You stormed over to them without thinking, fuming, but they didn't notice your approach. As soon as you were close enough, you chucked the book at them, hitting Loki's arm directly where it was hidden underneath her dress.

They pulled away from one another and looked over at you. Loki looked irritably at you before smoothing it into an inscrutable expression. Gullveig narrowed her lavender eyes at you, resentment quickly filling them.

"It's rude to interrupt. And to throw a book at your Prince. Have you no respect?"

You grabbed a random book off the shelf next to you and chucked it at Gullveig’s head, but she easily ducked down, avoiding it. The book landed in the fire besides them, causing it to roar harder for a short moment before returning back to its original size. You wanted to say something but you felt your voice become caught within your throat with your eyes beginning to prickle, threatening to spill tears. You simply balled your fists and glared at Gullveig.

“I would be more careful if I were you. That’s no way to treat your future princess,” Gullveig said, smirking at you. She brushed her hands up his chest and nuzzled her head in his neck, never breaking eye contact with you.

“Gullveig, that’s enough,” Loki said, his voice slightly strained.

You turned your death stare onto him, but he avoided looking at you.

Gullveig slowly straightened up. “Loki, darling. You really need to stop trying to ruin the fun for me,” she whined, but underneath her tone you could tell that she was being serious.

She cocked her head to the side while looking at you. “I want to figure out why you were so close to your previous toy, Loki,” Gullveig thought aloud, slowly sliding off his lap. Loki sighed heavily.

“Gullveig, just leave her alone,” he said, still continuing to avoid your angry gaze.

“I am to be your wife, Loki,” she said a little too forceful, walking towards you. “And I have a right to know if a past whore of yours should be of any concern to me.”

Your hands twitched, an automatic reflex to dislodge your hidden blade, but you stopped the motion before the silver metal could make their appearance. Her eyes flicked down to your forearms, a sneer forming on the corner of her lips.

“Didn’t like that comment did you, sweetheart?” Gullveig walked closer to you, but you continued to stand your ground. She came up to your eye level and you could feel a strange energy that seemed to emit from all over her. She eyed you and your robes before sighing dramatically. “You pose no threat,” she declared. “Why would Loki choose a dish rag when he could have an exquisite gem?”

In a split second, you fully dislodged your right hidden blade and held it against her neck. However, she had instantly caught on to what you were doing and had placed her own palm besides your neck, a dark purple light encompassing her hand.

Loki stood from his chair, looking at her angrily. “Gullveig, do not lay a hand on her,” Loki warned seriously.

Rage briefly flashed over her features while neither of you moved from your positions. “She is the one who pulled the knife on me, Loki. I’m simply defending myself.” She narrowed her eyes at you. “You’re going to need to sever the attachment on the assassin if we are to be wed, Loki. You do not defend her. You defend your wife.”

You decided that you had heard enough. You retracted your hidden blade and pulled back away from her. Without looking at either of them, you turned around and walked away, rage and heartache filling your entire being.

“Not really an intelligent one, is she?” Gullveig commented behind you to Loki. Without thinking, you grabbed another random book from the shelf and spun around, throwing it at her, hitting her directly in the back of her head.

~

You stormed through the palace’s corridors, furious. You had to continuously wipe away the stray tears that seemed to never falter spilling over your lower lashes. You were mad at Freyja for forcing you to witness what you had. You were mad at yourself for caring so much. You were mad at Loki for just abandoning you suddenly. You absolutely loathed Gullveig for taking advantage of Loki and causing you feel so much pain.

 _Stop crying_ , you forcefully told yourself. _If you cry, she has won. She planned on hurting you and if you cry, you’re giving her what she wants._ No matter how much you tried to convince yourself, you couldn’t get rid of the heartache that completely overtook you.

“I see you saw them,” you heard Freyja’s voice say next to you. You stopped suddenly and looked over at her voice, seeing her leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

Though you knew she didn’t entirely deserve it, you couldn’t help but express your sorrow and anger towards her.

“You’re such a bitch,” you spat at her, your voice noticeably cracking on the last word. You hastily wiped away at the next couple of tears that came down. “Why the fuck would you send me to the library to see them in that position. How the _fuck_ would that solve anything?!” you nearly yelled at her.

Freyja was completely unaffected by your tone of voice. “Why are you crying?” she asked you, sounding almost bored.

Her question only fueled your wrath even more. “What the fuck do you think?!” you yelled. You let out one humorless laugh. “You know, I actually thought you were going to help me. But I clearly see that I was wrong. Is this some sick twisted game in your eyes?”

“ _Why are you crying?_ ” Freyja repeating, enunciating every word, her expression serious.

“Because I’m hurt,” you spat at her.

She shook her head. “ _Why are you crying?_ ” she repeated a third time, annoyance becoming evident in her tone.

“Because I love him!” you shouted at her without thinking.

Realization washed over your entire being. Your expression changed from one of anger to shock. You stood in stunned silence, trying to wrap your head around what you had just said.

Freyja grinned at you. “Good. _Now_ we can start on getting Loki back.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do believe we've got a new record for longest chapter! Woo!
> 
> Enjoy! ;)

“Pay attention to his eyes,” Freyja said to you as you were walking towards one of the smaller dining halls. Three days had past since the incident in the library and the few times that you had come in contact with Loki, he simply continued his snub towards you, never leaving Gullveig’s side. Frigga had approached everyone during one of your training sessions, inviting you all to an informal small lunch that she had organized to celebrate Loki and Gullveig’s engagement; an event that Freyja was unfortunately forcing you to attend despite your protests.

“Why his eyes?” you asked curiously as you turned a corner.

“An interesting sign that a person is under the enchantment of another is the gradual change in the color of their eyes,” Freyja explained. “I’m not sure if Loki would even notice. With him being a shape shifter, he could think he was doing it himself subconsciously.”

The two of you reached the entrance to the hall and you opened the door for Freyja.

“Stay by my side,” she muttered to you before entering the room with a giant, white smile.

“Hello my friends!” she greeted everyone cheerfully as you followed behind her, suppressing a sigh.

The dining hall that you were in was significantly smaller than the grand one that held Frigga’s birthday ball. There was a giant table in the center filled to the brim with different fruits, cheeses, and meats. Volstagg, unsurprisingly, had already claimed his stake in it, pulling up a chair and gradually began making a dent in the giant mound. Sif was sitting with Fandral and Hogun by a fireplace that was located on the other side of room, with Thor standing by the window that took up the entire expanse of of the wall adjacent to them. His back was facing you as he watched the surrounding city, his hands clasped behind his back.

Loki and Gullveig were already there as well, sitting by the wall opposite of the window, a chessboard placed between the two of them, engaged in an intense game of chess. Volstagg was watching them from the table with a leg of meat in his hand and a mild look of amusement on his face. Freyja brought you to two seats in front of the window, beside Thor. When you sat down, you started to watch Loki and Gullveig’s game as well, realizing why Volstagg had been watching with such amusement.

They moved the pieces almost immediately after the other person had made their own move, their arms never fully returning back to their sides. Your eyes flickered back and forth between their hands as they continued to make each decision within a split second after the other’s. Every single game that you watched had ended in a stalemate after only a few minutes.

Thor left his spot by the window and walked towards you and Freyja, sitting in the chair next to yours.

“I’ve, uh, heard what happened, m’lady,” Thor said softly to you so that no one else in the room would hear.

“Shit happens,” you mumbled, pretending not to care.

Thor furrowed his blond brows at you. “Surely if you fancied my brother, you would ca-”

“I don’t,” you interrupted, a little too forceful. “I have no claim over him. He was never mine to take. He chose to be with Gullveig and I’m happy for him,” you lied, feeling your stomach turn at your own words.

Thor didn’t buy your response. “I’m not the fool you take me for,” Thor said seriously.

You looked down at your hand and started picking at the skin around your nails, ignoring Thor. The last person you wanted to be having this conversation was with him. Freyja grabbed your hand within her own and glared at you. “Stop that. You’re ruining your cuticles,” she said, almost sounding offended.

You rolled your eyes irritably. You looked back over at Loki and Gullveig as they finished another game as a draw. You don’t know what came over you to make you do what you did next. You supposed it could have been that you were frustrated that their chess games never ended in a different outcome or maybe a part of you saw that that this was an opportunity to try and put Gullveig in her place.

You sighed dramatically before standing up and walking towards them. Everyone in the room watched you carefully as you moved across the room, curious of what you were about to do. You approached Loki.

“Move,” you said, gently nudging his shoulder with your fist. He gave you a curious look before standing. As you sat down you made eye contact with him for a brief moment, seeing that his striking emerald eyes were now replaced with an icy blue. You scooched your chair in as Gullveig set up the chess pieces for the next game, her eyes narrowed at you the entire time.

“Don’t run away and cry again when you lose,” Gullveig said under her breath, as she placed the last piece in its respective place.

“Don’t bitch to Loki when you don’t get your way,” you shot back at her.

You saw that she had set up the board with your side having the white pieces. You placed the tips of your fingers on the corner of the board and spun it around, giving her the white side.

“My future princess should always go first,” you said, smirking at her.

She cocked a brow at you before making her first move. You analyzed the board, immediately recognizing her possible strategies and moved your own accordingly. She moved her next piece before you had even returned your hand to your side.

You looked up at her and she gave you a smug expression.

You quickly made your next move and she reciprocated immediately once again. The entire room was silent, watching intently, as you and Gullveig continued going back and forth, your speeds becoming faster and faster. Loki stood beside the board, one arm wrapped around his chest with the other propped on top, his hand covering his mouth as he watched in amusement.

Both you and Gullveig held concentrated faces, focusing solely on the game in front of you. After some time, you could tell that Gullveig was starting to become a little frustrated with the fact that she hadn’t beaten you yet. A frown tugged on the corner of her mouth as she hastily made another move. As you you were about to take your next turn, your hand paused, hovering over the board. A smile slipped onto your face.

You pinched a pawn between your fingers and Loki laughed. Gullveig’s lips parted in shock as she realized what she had done. You placed the black pawn in between another one of your pawns and her white king diagonally, trapping it the back corner of the board. 

“Checkmate,” you said, leaning back in your chair.

The entire room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at that moment. Gullveig stared at the board, her chest heaving and face angry. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how you had beaten with her just two pawns.

You stood from your chair and turned to him. “That’s how you beat her,” you said to him before turning around and walking away. Loki watched you with admiration while Freyja gave you an encouraging smile as you returned to your seat in between her and Thor.

Frigga suddenly walked into the room, a small smile resting on her face.

“Ah, I see that you’ve all arrived. Excellent,” she said, making her way towards the banquet table in the center.

Gullveig stood and wrapped an arm around Loki, pulling him close as she glared at you from the other side of the room. You simply gave her a smug smile in response. Everyone gathered around the table and servant came over, pouring wine in everyone’s goblets. As soon as everyone’s was filled, Frigga gave Loki a smile, her lips showing happiness but her eyes conveying sadness.

“I want to congratulate my son on his engagement to the ever beautiful, Gullveig,” Frigga started, her voice sounding slightly strained. Gullveig nestled her head into Loki’s shoulder while you looked down into your goblet, biting down on the inside of your cheek as you pretended to admire the red liquid inside.

“And I am so pleased that he has found someone that he believes will be the best wife suited for him,” she continued. You detected a hint of a sarcasm in her tone, something that made the corner of your lips pull upwards.

“Unfortunately, Odin was unable to join us today, so I am extending his blessing on behalf of him,” Frigga said.

Thor leaned into your ear. “He never gave such blessing,” he quickly muttered before straightening up.

“So, here’s to Loki and Gullveig. May your marriage be blessed with many happy years,” she finished, lifting her goblet. Everyone mimicked her movement. While everyone just took a small sip from there drinks, you gulped the entire thing, relishing in the slight burn it caused in your throat.

Gullveig looked up and smiled sweetly up at him which made you roll your eyes. He leaned down and they kissed one another, everyone breaking out in polite applause, except for you. You glared at them as you reached out your goblet, indicating to the servant for him to refill it. Gullveig pulled away pretending to be embarrassed as she fanned her face. “Loki, darling. Don’t do that in front of everyone,” she giggled.

Freyja groaned under her breath next to you. “Give me a break,” she mumbled.

“Let’s eat!” Volstagg nearly roared, grabbing a plate from the top of a stack.

Sif rolled her eyes. “You’ve been doing nothing but eating, Volstagg,” she said as she grabbed her own plate.

“Aye, I’m a big warrior. I must keep myself fueled in case my m’lady ever needs saving,” he said, grinning back at Sif.

“You would get stuck between the doorframes before you could even leave the room to save me,” Sif joked.

As you reached for your own plate Volstagg placed his massive hand on your head and ruffled your hair. You looked up at him slightly annoyed and he barked out a laugh. He leaned in.

“This will all work out, don’t you worry,” he said winking at you before turning around back to his food. His eyes lit up as if he were a small child given dozens of presents. “Where to start. Where. To. Start,” he said, tapping the edge of his plate against the bottom of his lip.

A guard came in that moment and walked over to Gullveig, whispering something in her ear. When he left she turned to everyone in the room.

“Pardon me, everyone, but I must step out for a short moment,” Gullveig announced, faking an apologetic smile. “It seems as if one of the men who came with me has fallen a bit ill. I’ll return before dessert.” She turned to Loki, kissing him on the cheek before exiting the room.

“Dessert?” Volstagg asked excitedly earning a smack from Sif.

Loki looked at the door where Gullveig left, looking almost lost.

“Perhaps I should go with her to ensure all is well,” Loki mumbled before walking towards the door himself.

Freyja elbowed you hard in your ribs and you automatically wrapped your arms around your midsection. “Ow! What the hell, Freyja?! I’m still healing,” you said in aggravation.

She gestured to Loki who was now exiting the room. “Now’s your chance,” she whispered. She grabbed the top of your arm, pulling you in close. “Sometimes actions speak louder than words,” she told you before releasing her grasp and pushing you towards the door. You hesitated for a brief moment before walking to the exit. You earned a smile from Frigga as you passed by her, clearly knowing what you were going to do, before she returned to filling her plate with food.

When you left the room, you saw Loki turning the corner and you jogged after him, hoping to reach him before he could catch up with Gullveig. Your heart pounded as you approached him, having no idea how you were supposed to get Loki out of his trance.

While you were following him trying to figure out how to approach the situation, he turned around and began to walk backwards with a curious look on his face.

“Is there a particular reason why you’re following me?” he asked with a slight smirk.

Heat traveled to your cheeks. “No,” you immediately replied.

He narrowed his eyes. “You lie,” he said to you.

“So do you,” you retorted. “All the time.”

He raised his hands in defeat. “Got me there,” he said before turning back around.

You sighed. “Loki, stop walking,” you said, faltering your own steps. Loki slowly came to a stop, but he didn’t turn around. He knew why you had gone after him. You walked up to his side, but he didn’t turn to you, continuing to just stare at the end of the hall.

“Why her?” you asked, your voice small and timid.

"Because she is most suitable for me,” he answered automatically.

“Do you love her?” you asked.

He looked down at you confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

This time it was your turn to look at him confused. “You marry someone because of love,” you told him.

He smirked at you. “You really aren’t from here, are you? Our marriages are out of legality, nothing more. As I said, she is most suitable for me,” he repeated before beginning to walk again, clearly not wanting to continue with the conversation you were having.

You grabbed his forearm before he could go any further. He turned his now icy blue eyes on you and you yearned for them to return to their original color.

“You’ve hurt me, Loki,” you said softly, you voice slightly breaking.

You saw pain briefly flash across his features before smoothing it out so you couldn’t read him.

“That was not my intention,” was all he replied.

“What do you see in her?” you asked, shaking your head slightly with your brows furrowed.

“Gullveig is a beautiful and intelligent woman, gifted with an incredible ability for magic,” he answered.

“But you don’t love her,” you accused.

“Like I stated earlier. Love is no factor when it comes to our marriages.”

You looked down at your hand that was wrapped around his wrist. You suddenly missed the feeling of his hands skimming over your body.

“Then tell me. Right here, right now. How do you truly view _me_?” you asked him, repeating the question you had asked him on Frigga’s birthday. You kept your eyes trained on your hand holding onto him while you waited for his response.

“Why would it matter? Seeing as we are no longer working together?” he repeated his exact answer before easily twisting his hand out of your grasp.

Your heart broke at hearing his response. _Sometimes actions speak louder than words_ , Freyja’s words popped into your head.

“No,” you quietly said. He stopped short and turned around.

You shook your head at him before walking towards him. “No,” you repeated more defiantly. Two tears slipped from your eyes but you didn’t bother wiping them away.

“Why do insist on pushing me away?” you asked angrily.

Loki didn’t bother hiding the pain that came across his features this time. “Because I am to be faithful to Gullveig,” he answered.

“Dammit, Loki! Listen to yourself! This is not you! The real you would never let someone like Gullveig influence your actions. This is not the Loki I know. This is not the Loki I fell in love with!” 

You snapped your mouth closed, your eyes widening when you realized what you had just told him.

Loki looked down at you briefly in shock before giving another pained expression. “Why must you use such words?” he asked quietly. “Your presence is confusing enough to me. I don’t need you adding more to that.”

_Actions speak louder than words._

You reached over and grabbed the belt that rested across his chest and pulled him towards you, raising yourself on your toes, crashing your lips against his. But he didn’t reciprocate back like you expected. He instead kept his lips completely still, waiting for you to finish, which only further increased your heartache.

You pulled back slightly as another tear rolled down your cheek. “Dammit, Loki. Come back to me,” you pleaded against his lips. “Come back to me already,” you choked out. “I can’t lose you, not now,” you said before putting your lips on his again, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing your body against is.

He kept his lips completely still once again, forcing you to become desperate. You traced his bottom lip with your tongue, begging for him to react. He hesitated before slowly parting his lips, granting you access. He began moving his lips more against yours, gradually sliding his hands onto your waist. As the kiss started to pick up, you gently pushed him against the wall, encouraging his actions by pressing your body further into his. As the kiss became more heated, Loki wrapped his arms around you tightly and pulled you further into him as if he couldn’t get you close enough. Your bruised ribs and scarred abs protested at the pain, but you welcomed the sensation, the joy that was filling your heart making it completely worth it.

Loki broke away from the kiss and looked down at you. When you looked up you saw that the color of his irises had returned back to their original emerald. He raised a brow at you.

“So you’re in love with me, huh?” he asked cheekily, smirking at you. You breathed a sigh of relief as you rested your forehead into his neck, his hair tickling your cheek.

“Never do that to me again,” you mumbled. You felt the chuckle that rumbled within his chest.

His grip around you tightened even more as he leaned in his cheek to rest it against yours. “I promise,” he whispered in your ear.

You suddenly heard the clicking of heels against the stone of the floor. You reluctantly pulled away from from Loki, turning your head towards the footsteps. Your stomach plummeted when you saw Gullveig quickly turn the corner of the hall was walking towards you, fuming.

“What the fuck did you just do?” she spat at you. You saw that both her hands were encompassed in a purple light, the air literally rippling around her from her anger. You pulled completely away from Loki before walking towards her, meeting her halfway.

“Pulling your disgusting influence off of him,” you said back to her. The absolute joy and bliss you were experiencing just a few short seconds ago had been quickly replaced with hatred and resentment as soon as you saw Gullveig.

“You’re destroying _everything_ ,” she seethed at you.

"No," you shook your head in disbelief. “It was _you_ that ruined that everything.”

Gullveig balled her fists, causing the the purple light to glow brighter and become slightly bigger.

You narrowed your eyes before taking another step towards her, the two of you now inches apart.

“How dare you rear your foul and obnoxious presence back in Asgard. _How dare_ you come into Frigga’s home and take advantage of her kindness after what you did to her before. _How dare_ you come here and start manipulating Loki as if he were some kind puppet. You are truly a wretched and nauseating person.”

“She…was…” you heard Loki hesitantly say behind you, his words uncertain. Loki was putting together the pieces in his head as he realized what Gullveig had done to him.

Gullveig sneered at you. “Well, I’ve got some bad news for you then, sweetheart. He was the one who contacted me after years of silence interested, not me. He was the one who invited me back to Asgard. He was the one who proposed engagement even _after_ he had met you. You are nothing special in his eyes.”

“That’s enough,” Loki said harshly behind you, clearly infuriated. You couldn’t help but slightly recoil at his tone of voice, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Gullveig.

“See how she recoils at the tone of your voice, Loki? Notice how she fears your anger. Don’t think that this _petty Midgardian_ could ever be a suitable match for you. You are a god, a prince. You should have no association with someone who was a part of such a disgraceful order, never mind a lowlife Midgardian.”

You flicked out one of your hidden blades and held it against her neck. “Not. Another. Word,” you threatened. She lifted her chin up smirking at you.

“Oh? Does Loki not know?” she asked in a sickening tone. She turned her eyes over to him. “Your little whore here is not only not from Asgard, but she isn’t even from this realm!” she laughed. “I would have thought you would be able to tell that she was from Midgard, a weak and pathetic race. When I first met her I seriously started to doubt your tastes, Loki. I thought you, of all people, would know better.”

“Interesting choice of words considering that you just allowed a _weak and pathetic Midgardian_ to hold you at knifepoint,” Loki said calmly but his tone filled with venom.

“I’m simply humoring her. She cannot hold dominance over me,” she said confidently. Gullveig turned her eyes on you. “Sorry to say this to you, but Loki isn’t too keen on your kind. Loathes them in fact.” 

She flickered her eyes back to Loki. “When we were teenagers, how many times did you say that the Midgardian race is a pitiful one, craving only for subjugation?” she asked, letting out a humorless laugh. “How ironic that you would unknowingly become so attached to one. It makes me so sad to see.”

Loki shook his head at her. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said to her. “I’ve known the entire time.”

You looked over at Loki in complete shock. How could he have possibly known this entire time that you were from Midgard? You hadn’t told him a single thing from your past. Gullveig scoffed at him. “Even worse!” she exclaimed.

As you were looking at Loki, you noticed something that made you pull your eyebrows together. You saw that his neck was slowly becoming blue, traveling upwards slowly. You flicked your eyes down to hands and saw the same blue color slowly creeping past his wrist.

Gullveig let out sickening laugh, turning your attention back to her. She was smiling at Loki. “It’s interesting how the player got played, isn’t it Loki?” she asked him in a mocking tone. “The god who is the master at his own game, moving the pieces only when he desires to do so, suddenly became nothing but a pawn trapped in his own design.”

You looked over at Loki and saw that his chest was heaving, his face filled only with hatred. The little amount of light blue that had traveled on his neck slowly darkened.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” Gullveig dismissed him, rolling her eyes. “Like you would do any differently. You contacted me with the intentions of using me for your own dirty tactics. The only difference was that I was one step ahead of you. You are no different from me, Loki, so don’t try to delude yourself.”

You looked back over at Loki, genuinely becoming concerned this time. The blue had begun to travel back up his neck and down his hands at a much faster rate.

“Don’t you see that’s what makes us perfect for each other, Loki?” Gullveig said, the first time you had ever heard her sound genuine.

“You placed an enchantment over me,” Loki spat through his teeth. “You manipulated me, taking my free-will into your hands.”

“Just as you would have done,” Gullveig replied. “For fucks sake, that is what you are _known_ for doing. You’re just sore that another was able to do that to _you_.”

“Loki...?” you reached out timidly with your voice. If he had heard you, he didn’t show it. He kept continuing glaring at Gullveig with hatred as blue made it’s way up to his jawline.

“Loki?” you asked more forcefully this time, your hidden blade dipping slightly on Gullveig’s neck. Gullveig used your temporary distraction to place her own purple palm against your neck, sending what felt like thousands of electrical currents running through you. You immediately collapsed to the floor in a fetal position as your muscles jerked uncontrollably, forcing them to painfully contract. You gritted your teeth and kept your screams locked away in your throat until it could finally subside.

When the worst of it had passed through, you placed the palm of your hand onto the stone floor and gradually propped yourself up.

“You motherfucking, cock su-” you immediately paused when your eyes made purchase of the sight in front of you.

The Loki you knew was no longer standing nearby. Instead, he had been replaced by a completely blue version of himself, his frame slightly bigger than before. His eyes glowed an intense shade of ruby red and he had white, rigid markings patterned on his forehead, cheeks, and chin that traveled down his neck and plummeted underneath his clothes.

You slowly stood, never once taking your gaze away from Loki’s new form trying to figure out what he had become.

Gullveig stood besides you with the exact same expression of shock as you, her mouth slacked open.

“You’re a…you’re a…” Gullveig began breathlessly speaking. She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and her expression changed from shock to utter disgust.

“You’re one of those beasts from Jötunheim, Loki?” Gullveig spat at him in disbelief.

Shame flashed over his features for a second as he realized he let his true form come out in front of you and Gullveig out of his anger.

“I almost married a Frost Giant; a Jotun,” Gullveig muttered to herself, looking faint. She looked at him with revulsion. “The things we did, Loki,” Gullveig said to him sounding betrayed. “I will have to bathe _for weeks_ to remove the filth you have bestowed on me.”

Loki slowly turned his eyes onto you. You continued to stare at him in complete shock. You had heard the tales of the Frost Giants when you were younger. They were always told by older members of the order to scare the younger kids, yourself included. But Loki wasn’t like the ones in the stories. He didn’t hold a hostile or menacing glare. He wasn’t directly attacking you or trying to harm you in anyway. In fact, he looked a little anxious, as if he were afraid that you would have the same reaction as Gullveig.

You skimmed your eyes over the foreign white ridges that decorated his face and hands in symmetrical patterns. You stared at the strange blue pigment that took over his skin, his pale skin from before completely hidden. _The eyes_ , you thought. _The eyes are the most different_. Gone were Loki’s beautiful green irises, instead replaced with a red that reminded you of freshly drawn blood.

Loki swallowed nervously as he waited for you to say something. The corner of your lips turned up just the slightest.

“Beautiful,” you whispered quietly. Shock fluttered over Loki’s face.

“You’re kidding?” Gullveig said to you, stunned as well.

“Absolutely…beautiful,” you repeated, ignoring Gullveig’s comment. 

You walked over to Loki slowly, stopping right in front of him as he watched you warily, clearly not believing you. You reached up and gently placed your middle and ring finger on the middle of his forehead, brushing your fingers over the icy blue skin. Your fingers rose and fell with his markings and you noticed that his temperature had cooled significantly, as if you were actually touching something frozen. You continued to skim your fingers down his face, admiring the way he looked and loving the feeling of his new texture.

When your fingers reached the edge of his jaw, you lightly placed your entire palm on the side of his face, your thumb brushing against his cheekbone. Loki closed his eyes and leaned his head into your palm, soaking in the sensation.

“I don’t view you any differently,” you whispered to him. Loki opened his eyes, still clearly doubting you.

“Please don’t lie to me,” Loki replied, his voice slightly hoarse. “I know that I am a monster in this form.”

You couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, accidentally giving him the wrong idea.

“Do not mock me,” he said, anger returning back to his voice.

“Loki, you’re…you’re incredibly sexy right now,” you grinned at him biting your bottom lip, trying to hold back laughter at what you had just admitted out loud.

Gullveig made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, reminding you of her presence. You whipped around and glared at her with anger. You noticed that she had turned her back on you, not wanting to witness what was happening in front of her. Filled with nothing but your hatred towards her you quickly wrapped your arm around her neck, pulling her into a chokehold with your palm against the side of her neck, ready to dislodge your blade at any moment.

“Make a move and I kill you,” you threatened in her ear. She clawed at your wrist trying to burn you through your clothes with her magic, but you simply tightened your hold on her. She continued inhale sharply but the air was cut short before it could reach her lungs. As she desperately gasped for air, you spun her around so that she faced Loki.

“What should we do with her?” you asked him with a smirk.

He stared at you in shock for a brief moment before slowly turning it into the mischievous expression you were so used to. He walked over to the two of you, leaning over so that his blood-red eyes were eye-level with hers.

"Break her," he answered. "As she has broken thousands before her. I wish to see her become the color she so finds revolting,” he smirked at her. You looked down and noticed that her face was gradually becoming a violent violet-blue from the lack of oxygen. You suddenly thought back to Freyja telling you that one of the only things that Gullveig ever cared about was her appearance and how she found more importance in that than the value of an innocent person’s life.  

Keeping one arm wrapped tightly around her, you reached your other arm behind you and slid out one of the small throwing knives in your belt. You placed the tip of your knife by her temple and, without hesitation, slowly slid it across her face and nose, tearing the flawless skin all the way down to the opposite side of her jaw. She struggled immensely, squirming to get out of your grasp, unable to cry out due to your restriction on her throat. Blood quickly poured out from the slit you had given her, running over your knife and onto your wrist. You wiped your blood soaked knife against her expensive dress, staining it.

“Impressive battle wound,” you commented on the deep cut you had inflicted on her, knowing that she would be soon marked with an ugly scar that ran diagonally across her face. “Shame that it’ll be there forever though,” you sighed dramatically. “I’m sure you were quite beautiful before you got it,” you quoted her exact words before releasing your grasp around her neck. She collapsed onto her hands and knees, coughing and wheezing as she tried to replace the air you had been denying her. Small red droplets dripped from her face onto the floor, darkening the stone.

Loki crouched down in front of her, his elbows resting on his knees. He reached out one blue hand and cupped it underneath her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

She quickly swatted it away. “Don’t fucking touch me, you sickening beast,” she spat at him, trying to get back up.

You placed the bottom of your foot on her back, and shoved her back down to the the floor.

“You don’t move,” you threatened at her. “Or I will do much worse than scar your face.”

“I don’t think you can get worse than that in her eyes,” Loki chuckled, grinning up at you, his white teeth a brilliant contrast against his blue skin. You returned his smile, your heart ballooning with happiness. _He’s back_ , you thought. _He’s finally back._

“Goodnight, Gullveig,” Loki said down to her before placing his palm over her head, a golden light seeping from underneath, completely knocking her out.

Loki swiftly stood up and and eyed you with a smirk. You noticed that his red eyes were gradually returning back to their original color, the blue skin fading as if the pigment were melting away on his skin the longer he stayed calm.

“Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?” Loki asked you, a cheeky smile forming on his lips.

“I do believe you were saying how in love you are with me,” you teased him.

Loki chuckled darkly, taking two steps to close the distance between the two of you. “I have never muttered such words. If I remember correctly, it was you that confessed.”

A heat traveled up your neck. “Nope,” you said dismissively. “I did no such thing.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at you, leaning in slowly. “Then what will it take to hear those words escape your lips once more?” He brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen in your face and tucked it behind your ear.

Loki had completely returned back to his pale skin by this point, his green eyes shining down at yours.

You brushed your hands up his chest, wrapping your arms loosely around his neck, your mouths inches apart.

You gave him a mischievous smile. “I can think of a couple of things,” you coyly said while pressing your body against. Loki practically growled in response.

“I can do that,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips before he closed the distance between the two of you, kissing you passionately. His familiar taste flooded your senses, causing a blush to form across your belly and on the back of your neck.

He suddenly pulled away and picked you up before throwing you over his shoulder, walking back towards his room. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m not a sack of flour, Loki,” you joked. “I can easily walk there myself.”

He mumbled something about you escaping as you realized you were leaving Gullveig laying facedown on the floor, a puddle of her blood slowly expanding around her.

“Loki. Aren’t we forgetting someone?” you reminded him as you turned the corner of the hall.

You felt Loki’s shoulder shrug underneath you. “Eh, someone will find her eventually,” he replied.

You couldn’t help but let a giant grin overtake your face.


	33. Chapter 33

As soon as you reached Loki’s door, he placed his hands on either side of your waist and guided you off his shoulder, your feet finally making purchase with the ground once again.

“Finally,” you mumbled. “Your shoulder was starting to dig into my-”

Your words were cut off by Loki’s mouth quickly covering your own, kissing you heatedly and possessively. He pushed your back into his door with a thump, deepening the kiss. You reached your arms to wrap around his neck to pull him closer, but he forcefully grabbed your wrists and pinned them to either side of your head, preventing you from touching him.

He broke away from the kiss and immediately went to underneath your jaw giving you hot, wet kisses by your ear. You bit your bottom lip and rolled your head in the opposite direction, giving him better access, your cheeks becoming warm.

“Say it again,” Loki growled in your ear, his husky voice furthering your blush and causing a tingling sensation to form in your lower belly.

“Say…what?” you asked breathlessly, trying to make sense through the hazy cloud Loki was pulling over your eyes.

Loki growled in your ear again before pinching your soft skin between his teeth, earning him a small moan from your throat.

“Say it again,” he repeated, tightening his grip around your wrists. It finally clicked in your head what he wanted, causing your lips to curl up in a small smirk.

“No,” you denied him playfully.

He pulled back suddenly with irritation displayed on his face, his eyes narrowed at you.

“You will say it again,” he threatened.

“You’re going to have a try a little harder then,” you teased.

"Careful what you wish for, love,” Loki replied before dipping his head down to the other side of your neck. As he roughly nipped at your neck, he loosened one of his hands from around your wrist before skimming it past your breasts and your stomach before slipping it up underneath your tunic. His hand cooled your blushing abs before slipping it past the waistband of your breeches. Your gasp was quickly cut off by Loki returning his mouth over yours, kissing you fiercely.

Loki slowly slipped two of his long fingers into you, curving them as he slowly pushed them in and out. You automatically moaned into the kiss, urging for him to continue. When he brushed his thumb against your clit, you couldn’t help but slightly slip downwards, your legs almost giving out on you at the beautiful sensation that rocketed throughout your lower half that caused a blush to crawl up your neck.

Loki breathlessly laughed against your lips. “Where are you going, dove?” he asked as he pinned his chest further into you to keep you standing. As Loki continued to massage you, you used your now free hand to skim it against the door, blindly searching for the handle. When your hand made purchase with the cool metal, you quickly turned it, causing you to stumble ungracefully backwards. You grabbed onto his clothes, while he quickly removed his hand out of you in order to wrap his arms around you, steadying the both of you before you could fall. Without hesitation, he kicked the door closed behind him and picked you up before plopping you down on a nearby table.

His lips hungrily met yours again, never breaking away as he hastily unbuckled your belts and tossed them off the the side. He gripped your wrists tightly once again, gold light encompassing your forearms as you heard an audible ‘click’ of your hidden blades being removed. He tossed these aside as well before slipping your tunic over your head and doing the same to his own.

You went to skim your own hands over his chest but he once again restricted your hands within his own, pushing you down against the table, pinning your hands above your head.

“You don’t touch, unless I say so,” Loki growled at you before trailing sloppy kisses between your breasts and down your stomach. You furrowed your brows in slight confusion at Loki’s sudden aggressiveness but your expression quickly smoothed into one of pleasure as you felt Loki’s tongue taste your lower belly, your front teeth digging into the soft flesh on your bottom lip once again. You welcomed whatever what was causing Loki to behave so rough with you, seeing as you were receiving nothing but pleasure because of it.

You tried to control your breathing as Loki hooked his fingers into the waistband of your breeches and swiftly tugged them downwards. Cold air brushed against your exposed opening, causing a shiver to rocket throughout you. Loki promptly tossed both your legs over his shoulders and leaned over, placing his mouth over your heat, a moan immediately escaping from your lips. You gripped the edges of the table, your knuckles turning white as you tried not to automatically tangle your hands in his hair. He bruisingly gripped your thighs firmly, keeping your hips against the table, preventing them from bucking upwards.

“Loki,” you moaned quietly as he continued to kiss and suck on your hot bundle of nerves, feeling yourself being brought closer and closer to the edge.

“Are you ready to say it again?” Loki asked against you, his deep voice vibrating within you, furthering the delicious sensations.

“N-no,” you whimpered, determined not to give in to him.

Loki grunted in frustration before removing his mouth all together, leaving your chest heaving and your thighs slightly shaking, his hands no longer able to keep them steady. Annoyance flooded through you as you were left completely wound up with no payoff. The sudden denial of release you were hungrily expecting caused you to growl in anger. Loki chuckled darkly in response before leaning over you and returning his mouth to yours, the sweet taste of you still on his lips and tongue.

He lifted you into a sitting position, unbuckling your bra and throwing it aside before wrapping his arms possessively around you, his chest pressing hard against your own. You reached down in between the two of you and quickly unlaced his own pants, pushing it down with your hands. He effortlessly pulled you off of the table and spun you around, placing his large hand in between your shoulder blades and pushing you down, forcing your chest down on the table.

And without any forewarning, Loki slammed himself into you causing a moan and a cry out to mix together.

“Fuck, Loki. A little warning next time,” you said breathlessly trying to adjust to the prince’s size as quickly as you could.

“You are mine,” he roughly said behind you. “And only mine. So I shall do with you as I please.”

You couldn’t respond to his words as he began pumping forcefully in you. You moaned loudly as the feeling of pain and pleasure mixed into one. Loki held onto your hips tightly, his fingertips burning into your skin, controlling when you would meet his own. You grabbed onto the edge of the table once again, trying to take out the growing tension that was forming within you onto something else. The sound of his grunting and his skin meeting with your own rhythmically filled the air around you, turning you on even more. Though you didn’t think it possible at times, when you begged for him to go faster and harder, he would oblige immediately, pushing you closer and closer to your climax.

He suddenly changed his angle and he reached a new spot deep with you, causing a loud gasp to escape your throat. Loki paused for a brief moment, a husky chuckle escaping his lips. “There it is,” he said before testing out the angle again, re-entering you and hitting the spot once again. You moaned loudly as an intense pleasure completely encompassed your lower half. You tried to hold onto the sensation as much as you could, but it faded away just as fast as it had came.

“L-Loki,” you whimpered into the table.

“Are you ready to confess once again?” he asked roughly.

“No,” you said back determinedly, purely out of stubbornness by this point.

Loki slowly started to pull himself out of you. “Then you shall be denied-”

“Wait! Stop!” you said quickly causing another deep chuckle to escape from Loki chest as he paused.

“Well?” he asked expectantly.

“Fuck, Loki. I love you! I always have. Please don’t stop,” you hurriedly confessed, wanting nothing more than for him to fill you up once again. You would normally feel embarrassed and hate yourself for behaving so submissive to Loki, giving in to his will, but your desire for the deliciously addictive sensation that you had experienced a moment ago to return clouded your emotions.

“Good girl,” Loki purred before slamming himself into you once again and you buried your head into the table, a primal moan escaping from your throat.

Loki continued to hit this spot repeatedly causing your genuine, soft moans to quickly evolve into lurid cries out that intertwined with Loki’s grunts. You felt the knot in your lower stomach becoming tighter and tighter and as soon as Loki wrapped his arm around your waist to massage his long finger on your clit, you felt yourself immediately unraveling at his touch.

You nearly yelled Loki’s name as wave a pure, unbridled pleasure washed over you. He stopped moving within you to prevent himself from letting loose as well, but he continued the circling pressure on your bundle nerves, allowing to you ride out your high. As soon as the gratification began to fade, Loki slipped completely out of you and pulled you roughly upwards by your shoulder. He placed his hand on your jaw, forcing you to turn your head towards him before brushing it down your neck, stopping to cup and massage your tender breasts. He returned his lips on yours, kissing you fervently and making your heart feel as if it could burst at any moment.

“Kneel,” he suddenly demanded against your lips.

“What?” you asked breathlessly, caught a little off guard.

“You will kneel before your prince,” he said harshly. “As you have made me jealous over the pleasure that you have gotten to experience.”

You hesitated for brief second before giving him a sly and teasing smile.

“As you wish, sire,” you said seductively before slinking down to your knees.

Without hesitation you gently wrapped your hand around Loki and slipped him into your mouth, a deep moan immediately escaping from his mouth. You could taste yourself on him as you simultaneously pumped your hand while moving your head around him, trying to take as much of him as you could.

Loki brushed your hair away from your face, tangling his hands tightly in your locks, guiding you at the speed he preferred. You tried not gag as he began reaching past the back of your throat, threatening you to pull back and slow down. You ignored the protests and continued to deliver him the pleasure that he had so graciously bestowed upon you just moments before.

Loki moaned your named as he suddenly twitched within your mouth, his hands tightening even more in your hair as his hot, sticky seed suddenly entered your mouth. Without a second thought, you swallowed his salty mixture and licked off the rest that had dribbled onto him.

You glanced up at Loki who was looking down at you with a pleased smile.

“That’s my pet,” he said before guiding you upwards to kiss you passionately.

Loki gently placed his hands on your hips and guided you backwards to one of the doors attached to his room, never breaking away from the kiss. He reached behind you to open it.

You broke away to turn around, seeing that Loki had brought you into his bathroom. Unsurprisingly, the room was just as overly extravagant as his bedroom was. His counters were made out of expensive stone with their respective faucets made of pure gold. His mirror was surrounded by a frame probably worth more than all your possessions. You noticed that his bathtub was almost triple the size of your own and that he even had a strange contraception on the opposite end of the room that constantly poured water out of it, reminding you of a waterfall.

You cocked an eyebrow up at him. “You…you have _waterfall_ in your bathroom?” you asked in disbelief.

Loki chuckled lightheartedly as he turned on the water to his tub. “You don’t?” he asked you with a teasing smile.

“Can’t say that I do. Never thought that was a necessary accessory,” you replied, tilting your head to the side at the cascading water, trying to figure out the purpose of having such a thing. Loki walked up behind you and wrapped his arms around your scarred abs, pulling your back against his chest and nuzzling his face into your neck.

“We’ll have to try it out sometime then,” he said to you causing a smile to slip onto your face.

You realized that your legs were starting to tremble and that your lower half was notifying you of a deep ache forming within you.

“Um, Loki?” you hesitantly said.

“Hmm?” he hummed into your neck, placing sweet, soft kisses on your shoulder, a dramatic difference from just a few short moments ago.

“I think I need to lay down for a few moments,” you told him and you felt him smile against your shoulder.

“As you wish, m’lady,” he said before scooping up in his arms and stepping into the warm, soap filled water of the tub. He leaned back and placed you against his chest, the warm water enveloping you and instantly soothing your throbbing lower half.

You closed your eyes and smiled in contentment as Loki slowly caressed his hands over your entire body, washing you with the soapy water. His hands skimmed over your neck, down your arms, over your breasts, and across your stomach. He gently slipped his hands between your thighs, trying to further soothe the ache before running them down the sides of your thighs, all the while placing gentle and delicate kisses on your temple and down your jaw. You couldn’t help running your own hand slowly down his neck and chest, feeling the lean muscle that laid underneath.

“Oh, how I’ve missed your touch, Loki,” you mumbled, rolling your head to nestle it into his shoulder.

“Not a day passed where I didn’t think the same,” he replied, leaning in and exchanging a slow and intimate kiss with you.

When you broke away you nestled your head back into his shoulder and closed your eyes, soaking in the sensation of being wrapped tightly in Loki’s arms, having him back in your life once again.

You could feel yourself slowly slipping away from consciousness, sleep threatening to take you over for the rest of the day, but you kept yourself awake long enough to tell Loki one last thing.

“Loki?” you whispered.

“Hm?” he replied, as he repeatedly brushed his fingertips over the scar that permanently rested on your stomach.

“Do you realize much I’m falling in love with you?” you asked him, feeling his hand pause for a brief second before starting once again.

“I don’t think I’ll ever comprehend that statement for the rest of my years,” Loki replied softly.

You faded in and out of consciousness before finally giving in and falling asleep against Loki.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

_“Loki?” my name was delicately whispered from her lips._

_“Hm?” I hummed against her cheek, wondering where her thoughts could have been possibly roaming in her head at that moment._

_“Do you realise how much I’m falling in love with you?” she asked me suddenly. My hand that had been stroking her scar paused from the shock of the question._

_Oh, how this woman will be the death of me! This was now the third time those words had escaped from her and just like the previous two occurrences, it has caused my heart to skip a beat. Cursed be this woman for wandering into my life and causing such confusing thoughts and feelings to enter me._

_These words that she mutters, what does she mean by them? How could anyone find themselves falling in love with a monster such as me? Could she possibly be a monster herself, just disguised in the beautiful body of a mere mortal? Does she say such things to purposefully make me feel vulnerable so that she may hurt me in the future? No one could possibly mean those words to someone like me._

_“I don’t think I’ll ever comprehend that statement for the rest of my years,” I replied, finding it difficult to summon my voice._

_A smile slipped onto my face as her breathing slowed down and I realised that she was falling asleep against me. Trying my best to not jostle her too much and wake her, I slipped one arm underneath her knees and the other around her waist, pulling her out of the water with me. As I stepped out of the tub, I grabbed an oversized towel that was folded on the counter and wrapped it around her wet form._

_I carried her out of the washroom and gently placed her onto my bed, her wet hair delicately fanning over my pillows._

_I couldn’t help but stare at the sight that was presented in front of me. How could one little Midgardian hold such much beauty and strength? Never before has a woman made me feel weak at the knees. Never before has a woman made me question what I knew on the subject of love._

_Though she isn’t my biological mother, Frigga has always loved me unconditionally as if she were, more so than I’ll ever deserve. But…since meeting_ her... _I’ve discovered that there really is more than one type of love._

_I’ve read it in hundreds of books and thousands of poems, but I’ve never been able to sympathise with those who described it. They’ve always seemed foolish in my eyes. ‘How could you let one person influence your thoughts and actions in such a way?’ I would wonder, full of frustration. It seemed pathetic and weak to allow a person to do so._

_I have been with plenty of women in the past and they’ve always confirmed what I suspected. These women had only been able to temporarily satisfy my sexual needs and nothing more. There wasn’t any possibility of one of them holding a permanent influence over me as I held no real emotional attachment to these women. These women desired nothing more than my money or my title, never expressing interest in who I was or what my interests included. I believed that all women would forever be the same, figuring that I might as well just decide on choosing one that I could tolerate the most and that would satisfy Odin’s expectations of me at the same time. Clearly I had been ignorant in thinking so and had been too hasty in contacting Gullveig._

_She shifted slightly, bending her arm so that her face was now tucked into the side of her wrist. I couldn’t help but allow my eyes wander over her gorgeous facial features and across her perfectly shaped breasts, down to the healing pink scar that ran down her body and met with her hipbone that gently poked at her soft, delicate skin. I stared at the puckered line that scarred her thigh, admiring the contrast it had against the colour of her skin. I took in every inch of her form, drinking in the prospect that she could forever be mine._

_Why do I feel so possessive over her? Why do I feel immense jealousy at the thought of her leaving me to pursue another? Why do I feel a need to claim her as only my own so that no other man can come and steal her away from me?_

_I couldn’t help but sigh in frustration. Damn this woman! Damn her for making me think such intrusive and pointless thoughts!_

_I carefully slid into my sheets, pulling them over myself as well as over her. As I laid on my side and watched her dreams flitter over her face, she suddenly reached over and grabbed my wrist. A small smile tugged on the corner of her lips._

_“Loki,” she mumbled my name in contentment._

_My spirit soared at hearing her subconscious calling out for me deep within her sleep. I suddenly hungered for those words to tumble from her mouth once again, feeling as if the past times had been just a dream._

_I reached over and gently placed my hand on top of hers._

_“Though you are Midgardian, you possess me as if you were an enchantress. More so than Gullveig ever could,” I whispered to her. “But the difference is that I welcome your enchantment with all my heart.”_

_She shifted in her sleep once again, tightening her grip around my wrist. I thought back to earlier, how in all my anger, I had accidently allowed for my true side appear in front of her and Gullveig. I felt ashamed that I had let my Jotun form emerge from its shadows and yield its appearance._

_Gullveig had responded exactly as I had expected another would react. But not her. Of course she didn’t find me disgusting or revolting as Gullveig had. She had called my Jotun form beautiful, sexy even. She had accepted my true form without hesitation or question. This acceptance flooded my entire being with pure happiness, something I never believed I would ever be able experience. Perhaps mother was right. Perhaps there is one woman out there for me that could love and accept me no matter what shape or form I took. Could she be this one woman?_

_Her eyes suddenly fluttered open, their brilliancy shining through even through the haze of sleep. She gave me a confused expression, trying to get a bearing on where she was._

_“I’m in your bed?” she so astutely observed, her brows pulling together. “How did I get here?” she asked._

_“I carried you,” I replied as if it should have been obvious. Apparently her intelligent mind becomes clouded when influenced by sleep._

_“Well, thank you for not letting me drown in the bathtub,” she said to me, a smile slipping onto her face. I couldn’t help but let out a snort, trying to ignore such an absurd comment._

_She looked down at our intertwined hands causing pink to speckle her cheeks as she realised what she had done during her short slumber. Oh, how I will never tire of seeing her blush such a luscious colour!_

_She began to pull away but I tightened my grip around her wrist, preventing her from doing so. I gently tugged her towards me, encouraging her to instead come closer. As I laid on my back, she rested her head on my chest, placing her hand right next to it. I automatically wrapped one arm around her waist while I ran my other hand through her damp hair._

_When I believed enough time to have passed for her to have fallen asleep, I couldn’t help but feel the need to let her know my own feelings. I had no control of my words as they stumbled out of me and onto her._

_“‘The bright lights of both her cheeks burned onto me from the fire-hall’s felled wood;’” I began to whisper in her ear._

_“’no cause of mirth for me in that. By the threshold I gained a glance at the ankles of the girl of glorious shape; yet while I live that longing will never leave me.’_

_‘The moon of her eyelash – that valkyrie adorned with linen, server of herb-serf – shone hawk-sharp upon me beneath her brows’ bright sky;’” I slowly ran my fingertips down the curvature of her spine as I continued to recite the words that were tied within me._

_“‘but that beam from the eyelid-moon of the goddess of the golden torque will later bring trouble to me and to the ring goddess herself.’”_

_I sealed my last word with a soft kiss to her temple, hoping that even though she was asleep, she could hear and understand my every word._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poem: Kormáks saga. Edition: Einar Ól. Sveinsson, translated by Rory McTurk
> 
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korm%C3%A1ks_saga


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s this? A chapter? But that’s impossible! 
> 
> Yep. I know what you’re thinking. _SongsOfApollo, you died so long ago, how is there another chapter? I don’t believe it._
> 
> Well, you better believe it. ^.^
> 
> I apologize for my absence since my last posting. With a really hectic schedule, finding the time to sit down and produce something I was happy with, just didn’t happen. I felt horrible and frustrated for not writing, not to mention my hesitation and doubt of where to take this story.
> 
> However, I’m super excited to have reopened up the Chosen document and started writing right where I left off. I hope everyone is still interested in this story and still wants to read it!
> 
> This is the chapter I think a lot of AC fans will appreciate, since thus far a majority of the story has been heavy with Marvel and Norse mythos. So warning, this chapter is very AC story heavy, but it's necessary to tie a lot of loose ends.

You woke up to the sound of someone gently knocking on the door, abruptly pulling you out of your dreams. You groaned into your pillow, tightening your hold on whatever your arms were wrapped around. You knit your brows together as your tried to get a bearing on your surroundings. You opened one eye to discover that you weren’t even laying on a pillow, but in fact Loki’s lap, your arms tightly wrapped around his waist. You peeked up through your lashes to see that he was sitting up, a book held open in one hand, while his other lazily skimmed back and forth against your lower back.

“Breakfast, Master Loki,” a young girl’s voice informed him. You heard her footsteps travel across the room to the table, placing the tray on the table with an audible clink. You didn’t budge from your spot strewn across Loki’s lap, realizing that you were completely naked, the sheet barely covering your lower half. Loki never responded to her, keeping his eyes completely trained in the book in front of him. The servant left his room without saying another word.

Once the door closed behind her, you slowly rose from your makeshift pillow, trailing your hand up his stomach and chest with you. You propped your chin on his shoulder, peeking at the words printed on the pages he was reading.

“Good read?” you asked him, voice husky from sleep.

“Mm,” was all he responded, completely wrapped in the words presented in front of him.

“Well, then I shall leave you to it,” you replied before placing a soft kiss on his cheek. You swiftly crawled out of his bed and walked around it towards the washroom door. On your way, you glanced over at Loki and saw him peeking over his book, watching you. You gave him a teasing smile as you slipped into his washroom. When you returned cleaned up, you sat at the table where the servant had placed the food.

Loki sighed softly before putting the book down and rising from his bed. He joined you at the table, still completely nude.

“Aren’t you going to put on some clothes?” you asked with an amused expression.

“Why should I?” he replied lazily, reaching for a plate that was piled with eggs before pushing the rest of the tray towards you.

“I…don’t have an answer to that,” you chuckled, reaching for an apple. You were silent for a few minutes before speaking up.

“How did you know?” you asked him quietly, staring at the fruit that was wrapped by your hands.

“I know many things, my dear, so you’re going to have to be a little more specific,” he replied, a teasing smile resting on his lips.

“That I’m Midgardian. How did you figure it out? How long have you known?”

Loki leaned back in his chair, sighing lightly.

“It’s fairly obvious, love,” he replied. “For one,” he started, standing from his chair and walking over to your discarded robes. He quickly slid out the largest of the belts and walked back over placing it onto the table, your order’s symbol. “I would recommend getting a smaller belt insignia if you want to keep your origins a secret.”

"Next you’ll recommend to lose the whole outfit," you replied with a small snort, dragging the belt towards yourself. You looked up when he didn’t reply and saw him holding back laughter. 

“What?”

“How many people have you seen scurrying around Asgard in garb such as yours?” he asked with a grin. “For someone wanting to keep their identity a secret, you do stick out quite a bit.”

You leaned forward in your seat, placing your arms on the table. “That’s where having money comes in handy. Bribing criers and printer’s shops brings down my notoriety _and_ I get to keep the cool outfit.”

“And this money comes from where exactly?” Loki asked, raising a brow. “Last I checked, you were living in a run down shack and were lucky to get running water in there. I have a sneaking suspicion that you don’t have the funds to be spending precious coin altering your reputation.”

You paused. “Wait, how do you know where I live?” you asked with a confused expression.

“I might have done some snooping,” Loki admitted with a small smirk.

“When?”

“Bah, does it really matter now? It was a while ago,” Loki replied, waving a hand dismissively.

“It does! Because I want to know what you were expecting to find,” you said, a smile tugging on the corners of your mouth.

Loki sighed as he gave you bored expression, though his eyes avoided contact with yours. “I might have been looking for you.”

Your smile grew and you bit your lower lip to keep it from going any wider. “Really?”

“Oh, don’t look so pleased,” Loki snorted, rolling his eyes. “I was simply going to warn you of Thor going on a hunting trip for you after you decided to slaughter his guardsmen and steal something of Odin’s.”

“After _we_ slaughtered his guardsmen,” you corrected him, though your smile still showed no signs of faltering.

Loki was silent for a short moment. “That’s open to interpretation,” is all he replied.

“What? No it isn’t!” you laughed. “If anything you made me stand out more because you were there with me.”

"Can we get back to our original conversation, please?” Loki said impatiently, clearly not pleased with the current topic.

“Sure,” you answered with a grin. “The money comes from assassination contracts I can get,” you explained. “However, since our brotherhood wasn’t allowed to establish itself directly in your city, there are none for me around here and thus, my lack of funds. Any money I _can_ get, comes from doing dirty work for those down at the tavern.”

“So how does a human find herself out of Taceatem, hm?” Loki asked curiously, looking at you intently. “Even the Asgardian brotherhood consists of those who are Midgardians, your people are not allowed pass over the city’s lines, only those who are æsir and vanir.”

You paused and thought back to Frigga’s words of advice. _How much should I tell him?_ you thought. _Is it worth it? Will I spill out my heart to him just to have myself thrown off to the side?_

“I’m surprised you even know of Taceatem,” you commented, watching his expression carefully as if expecting some kind of trick.

“Of course,” Loki replied. “Although I’ve never concerned myself too much about learning about it. Even though your people connected themselves to our realm, you’re still cut off from us. That and your order never served me any useful purposes. Your city and its inhabitants stayed solitary and kept your wars and politics to yourselves, as per the agreement with Odin. No need to really touch up on your people’s history. Only need to know that the order exists at all. Anymore more is a waste of space in my head.”

“Yet you’ve suddenly become more interested in it recently,” you observed, narrowing your eyes at Loki.

“Naturally. That’s because you come from there,” Loki replied easily.

You took a small breath through your nose, debating on where to start. “Have you ever heard of the first civilization?” you asked.

“Various texts have mentioned them,” Loki answered, looking more intrigued now. “Though they’ve never meddled with us. More of a nuisance to your people, I’ve heard. The æsir’s ancestors would have probably known more about them than the current generation.”

You nodded your head. “They called themselves the Isu; a highly intelligent and advanced species. They were the ones to occupy Earth before us and are the ones responsible for creating humans, though they held treated us no more than slaves. There was a war between the humans and Isu that distracted them from an impending apocalypse. In one of the last-minute attempts to keep their civilization alive, they created that pocket realm next to Asgard. And thus the city of Taceatem was born.”

“But that wasn’t during Odin’s time,” Loki commented, looking at you slightly confused. “What need would you have there if it was created for the Isu?”

“Ah, well that involved something even Odin doesn’t know about,” you chuckled quietly, smirking slightly. “Familiar with Pieces or Apples of Eden?”

Loki raised his brows. “I am not,” he answered, sounding curious.

“I have a feeling you’ll like this then,” you said with a smirk, adjusting your seat and taking a deep breath before beginning your explanation.

“The Apples of Eden were created by the first civilization, each with its own unique property depending on what function they desired. Some pieces have healing or harming properties, others can create illusions or warp reality and time – which naturally creates nasty paradoxes and immense confusion. They can drive men to insanity or even cause instant death. Some pieces even provided the ability to communicate with first civ, long after they were extinct. It’s written in history that assassin Ezio Auditore was one of those who were able to speak with the first civilization. These Pieces of Eden were used by the first civilization to control their human slaves. Can’t have disobeying and rebellious thralls, now can you?” You leaned back in your chair. “When it came time for the Toba catastrophe to occur, only a handful of Isu were able to travel to that pocket realm, carrying a few technologies from their civilization which included several Pieces of Eden. The catastrophe wiped out the Isu on Earth completely and left only few humans to survive. And thus, the modern history timeline on Midgard was created.” 

“Still doesn’t explain how your people got off of Midgard,” Loki pointed out lazily.

“It wasn’t discovered until the 1400s that the first civilization had even created another “realm”,” you answered. “By then, the long war between the Assassin Brotherhood and Templar Order had been established. At its core, our feud is a battle to collect the Apple of Eden first. However, the difference between us is that Templars would abuse these pieces for their own gains if they were to get their hands on them. As my father explained to me when I was younger, the Templars are men who are drunk with the notion that a quintessential word can only be achieved through power and the oppression of individual freedom. As Assassins we advocate for the opposite; for the power of individual freedom and freewill, so that civilization and its ideas may flourish under such conditions.”

“So naturally after finding out about such pieces being located in Asgard’s pocket realm, your people immediately came here,” Loki guessed.

“Yes,” you confirmed. “Seeing as the æsir gods are responsible for watching over the people of Earth, it took only a few years to find a way to communicate with you and strike up an agreement. After many negotiations, the Assassins were able to travel to your realm. Upon arrival, they discovered the sub-realm to be completely abandoned. The technology that the first civ had brought was the only thing left of the Isu. Even today, no one knows why they suddenly disappeared from there. Assassins set their goal of finding the Apples of Eden before the Templars could find out this location as well, which of course, they eventually did, bringing the thousands years of conflict between our two groups to Asgard.”

“And causing Odin to make an agreement with you to keep your petty feud to that area,” Loki said to which you nodded in agreement.

“And by keeping our groups to that area, it kept the bloodline pure and disallowed interbreeding, keeping all us mortal,” you explained. “After hundreds of years it managed to flourish into its own city and a few æsir and vanir were allowed to immigrate there. However, those of the order were only to reproduce with other Midgardians, strictly controlled by the device implanted into the women; another piece of technology from the first civ.”

Loki nodded his head, keeping quiet as he thought things over. “The sphere of Ogtif that Odin received…”

“That sphere of Odin’s is actually an Apple of Eden. It belongs to the first civilization, not him,” you explained. “Naturally when I heard rumors floating around the tavern about it, I got excited. Obtaining it would restore my honor with the brotherhood.”

“And you being dishonored is the reason for you coming to Asgard?”

“Partially,” you answered before sighing. “I…might have done some dishonorable things while I was in the order that earned me an order of execution. Then some other…bad things had happened and I fled to Asgard to get away from it all.”

“And those bad things are what you’re keeping locked up inside of you,” Loki correctly guessed. “Will I ever get the honor of hearing about such events?”

“I can’t imagine they would be terribly interesting to you,” you mumbled your reply. “Besides, the story is too long.”

Loki stood up from his chair, magicking on clothes and walking over to one of his oversized armchairs. He plopped down into it and slung a leg over the side of it.

“What are you doing?” you asked as you watched him move, giving him questioning expression.

“Getting comfortable,” he replied, placing his hands behind his head. “What? You said it was going to be a long one. You don’t really expect me to sit in a hard, uncomfortable chair the entire time, do you?”

“You don’t _have_ to hear the story. You’re under no obligation to listen to it,” you said, trying to get out of reliving memories you’ve been able to keep suppressed thus far.

“You claim to love me, yes?” Loki teased with a coy smile. “If I am to pursue a relationship with you, I must know what I’m getting into it.”

Your cheeks flushed pink at his words, though you were still able to keep your face smooth. “If _I_ am able to pursue a relationship with you, Laufeyson, I must know that my feelings are reciprocated,” you countered, crossing your arms.

“Now that’s just absurd,” Loki replied, keeping his expression playful. “Don’t you know that a monster such as myself is incapable of feeling that way towards another?”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” you responded with a small scoff, causing Loki to look even more amused.

“And why is that?” he asked you curiously.

“Because you already love me,” you stated as if were obvious. Your response caught him off guard, causing his teasing smile to slip slightly.

“You shouldn’t make such assumptions,” he replied quietly. “It’ll only lead to you getting hurt.”

“Not unless I know I’m correct,” you countered with a smirk.

“Ahh, but you aren’t,” Loki chuckled, his smug smile returning. “You are amusing, I’ll admit. But I must apologize as I do not reciprocate your feelings.”

“You certainly are a good liar, God of Lies,” you commented, not believing his words.

“If you don’t wish to believe me, then so be it. Just don’t be upset when you discover that our relationship doesn’t develop beyond a friendship.”

"Gods, you frustrating,” you said in exasperation, making his smile grow. You stood from your chair and go to pick up your robes.

“Where you are going?” he asked in disappointment, sitting up slightly, his smile now disappearing. “It’s story time.”

“Not until you tell me you love me back,” you said, crossing your arms again.

“I’ve already told you, I don’t feel that way,” Loki replied. “You’re asking me to lie to you.”

“And you’re just so bad at that. It would be against your morals do such a thing,” you said, rolling your eyes.

Loki sighed in response. “And you call me frustrating,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Because you are!” you laughed. “I hope you have good day, Loki. I should head back to my quarters,” you said, heading back towards the door.

“Wait,” Loki called after you as you placed your hand on the door handle.

“Yes?” you replied, turning around to look at him.

He avoided your gaze as he debated on what to say. He kept quiet for a short moment before finally speaking. “There may be a possibility, albeit a very slim one, that my feelings are equivalent to yours. However, I am unable to comprehend such emotions so it’s impossible for me place a label on it and thus I cannot admit to you what I’m feeling with certainty. Though I would be a liar to admit that I feel nothing towards you.”

“I suppose that’s the closest I’m getting to an ‘I love you’?” you guessed, expecting him to say more.

“Take it or leave it,” Loki said definitively, looking up at you now.

You kept quiet for moment. “Fine,” you sighed, walking back towards him and sitting in the chair across from him.

“I’m excited to finally hear this story you’ve been keeping secret from everyone,” Loki told you with a smirk, adjusting his position in the chair to get more comfortable.

“Just don’t make me regret telling you,” you replied.

“Never, darling,” he grinned.  
_________________________________

I heard the sound of metal slinking into flesh behind me, shortly followed by a muted gurgling and a body collapsing to the stone street.

‘I had this covered,’ I said, turning around and narrowing my eyes at the hooded figure walking towards me.

‘Mhm, which is why you almost took a sword right in the middle of your back,’ he replied with an amused smirk. He pulled back his hood and rested his hand on the back of my neck as he pulled me into a kiss, his familiar scent flooding my senses immediately.

I pulled back with a small smile on my lips. ‘Jakob…’

‘Yes?’ he murmured. ‘Finally going to tell me you love me?’

'Nope. To your right,’ I murmured back with a smirk, pulling away and letting him deal with the guards charging at us from the side.

‘One day I’ll get you to admit it,’ Jakob chuckled, waving a finger at me before flipping his hood back over his head. He drew two swords as he prepared himself to parry with the small wave of guards approaching him.

While Jakob was being kept occupied I took a running head start to the nearest building and scaled it. The calluses on my fingers provided the only protection from the concrete brick tearing my skin open. As I was finally approaching the ledge, a series of musket balls were suddenly fired towards me. I lost my footing and slipped as one managed to just graze the side of my head.

‘Shit,’ I grunted as I managed to grab hold onto a ledge, my fingers straining at the sudden weight it had to support. I quickly scurried my feet against the building again to regain my momentum and make progress again. Another round of shots caused me to slip downwards once more, though I managed to get hold of the ledge again before I could fall to the street.

‘Chill the fuck out,’ I yelled down at them in frustration, pausing my climbing to look down at them. I was greeted with the sight of an entire firing range, reloading to take another shot.

‘Oh, for fucks sake. Learn to aim! There’s eight of you!’ I yelled down at them before turning back around and doubling my speed as I climbed.

‘Aim! Fire!’ the captain of the guard yells just as I manage to make it over the edge of the roof, sprinting to the middle of rooftop to evade the firing again. I was catching my breath when I heard his voice.

‘What took you so long?’ Jakob asked me lazily, leaning against the base of one of the roof towers, picking at his nails.

‘Why didn’t you help me?’ I asked breathlessly, walking over to him. ‘You could have distracted or took them out.’

‘For the same reason you left me to my own devices a few minutes ago,’ he answered, dropping his hand and looking up at me. ‘So what’s the name of this Templar again?’

‘Last name is Hawkins. No recorded first name,’ I replied, slipping out the folded piece of paper our master had given us and handing it to him.

Jakob skimmed over the paper, nodding his head. ‘I’m surprised they’re having us work so close to the border of Asgard and Taceatem,’ he commented before folding it up and handing it back to me.

‘Worth the risk if we can get the Apple,’ I replied, tucking the paper into my robes. ‘Your father said that we’ll be meeting four others of the order there. They left this morning.’

‘Excellent. Shall we be on our way then?’ Jakob said with a smirk, gesturing to the other side of the roof.

‘We shall,’ I replied before taking a running head start and diving off the roof.

~

By the time we reached the village, all of its inhabitants had already been clearly out, the giant fire pit in the middle still emitting smoke from being recently snuffed out. In the distance, mountains towered over the expanse of grassland that traveled past the village; its looming presence casting dark shadows. The snow from the grey storm clouds above us had begun to fall, sprinkling on top of the dark ashes by our feet.

‘It seems we were too late,’ a voice says. We looked over and saw the small group of four assassins from the order approach us. ‘We’ve searched every building for the Apple and have come up empty handed.’

‘Henri,’ I acknowledged, nodding my head once towards him.

‘That’s unfortunate,’ Jakob sighs. ‘Which direction do you think-

We all turned when the sound of door slamming open is heard from one of the buildings. A group of men came swaggering out, all bearing red crosses on their hearts. In the middle of the group, a man held a gold sphere.

‘I thought you said you searched every building?’ I said wryly, preparing my stance to fight.

‘We did…I don’t understand,’ Henri replied, drawing out a sword while the other three ran off to hide within the shadows. 

The Templar in the front raised his hand with a small smirk. ‘No need to get defensive. You don’t want an innocent family to be harmed, now do you?’ he asked with a twisted smile. 

From behind him, a family of five æsir came stumbling out the building. Each member’s mouth was gagged with their wrists bound together with handcuffs. ‘You let us go with the Apple and we leave the village completely untouched. It would be as if we were never here.’

‘Hawkins,’ Jakob murmured to me as he eyed the family. ‘It might be best to walk away. We can always try to find-’

‘No,’ I murmured back. ‘Now’s our chance, Jakob. We run away and we lose the Apple. You know how long Master has been looking for-’

‘I know, but the family,’ Jakob said to me, looking at me pleadingly. 

‘I’ll kill them myself if it gets us the Piece of Eden,’ I said darkly, causing Jakob and the other assassin to look at me in surprise. ‘There are times where sacrifices are necessary in order to accomplish a greater goal. What would you rather have on your conscience? Five or thousands? Because it’ll be the latter if we let them walk free - and that’s without guarantee they’ll even let the family live.’

The Templar who Jakob had identified as Hawkins raised his brows when he heard my assertion. ‘Will you now? Doesn’t that go against one of your tenets, assassin?’ He paused as he waited for my reply which I refused to give. ‘Very well. Let’s see it then,’ he smirked before nodding to one the men behind him to bring the family forward.

I immediately prowled forward and flicked out my hidden blades. Without thinking, I quickly slashed three of their necks before snapping the other two. Before they could even fall to their knees I attacked the group of Templars, causing a fight to break out between the two groups.

At that moment, the snow seemed to come down heavier and the wind whipping around us made it difficult to see while everyone blindly attacked each other. Though I stayed defensive, I kept my eye out for the the Apple, waiting for my moment to grab it.

I smirked when I finally caught a glimpse of the golden glow through the mess of Templars and Assassins. _Hawkins_ , I thought before abandoning the Templar that I was parrying with. I dodged the bodies that pushed past me, ducking through the fighting before quickly coming back up and piercing Hawkins into the middle of his chest.

‘Got you, motherfucker,’ I spit through my grit teeth, turning and twisting my blade inside his body. I pulled back and got a glimpse of blonde hair. _His_ blonde hair.

My entire world stopped. I could no longer feel the piercing bite of the cold air or the snow melting into my boots. I no longer paid any attention to those fighting around me or my other brothers falling as their own lives were being taken from them. Everything around me became muted, as if I were hearing everything underwater.

‘Jakob,’ I breathed out, feeling my face drain.

Jakob looked at me with wide eyes, his body stiffening in shock. From the corner of my eye I could see his hand unclench and the Apple falling by our feet. He coughed and sputtered out blood as he fell against me. I immediately caught him before we collapsed to our knees and into the snow.

‘Oh god, no. No, no, no, no, _fuck_. Jakob. I’m so sorry!’ I cried out, cradling him against me. His body trembled against mine as he wheezed for air. My name manages to escape his lips, though it’s quickly cut off by more blood coughing up. ‘Shhh, it’ll be okay, I promise,’ I tried to comfort him as his blood seeped onto both of our clothes, staining the white fabric a dark red.

‘I’m going to save you. I’m going to bring you back with me and we’ll get you healed! You just have to stay awake for me, Jakob, okay?’ I said through my tears, trying to sound hopeful. ‘I love you so much, Jakob,’ I told him as his eyes began to close. ‘I love you. I always have. I won’t leave you here, I promise.’

As my hearing began to clear, I could hear Hawkins walking up to us slowly, his sword dragging in the snow behind him. I lifted my chin up as he positioned the edge against my throat. I keep my cries silent though the tears did not stop running down my cheeks. Hawkins pressed the sword harder against my throat and I could feel the hot burn of my blood being drawn.

‘I won’t kill you,’ he says after a moment, releasing the pressure against my neck slightly. ‘Instead, I’m going to let your mind torment itself for what you have compromised.’ He shook his head slightly while tsking at me. ‘Your master won’t be very happy about this, now will he?’

I took a deep, shaky breath as I kept my eyes focused on the horizon. My own body began to tremble the second I felt Jakob’s go limp. I tightened my grip on him. Hawkins leaned over and picked up the Apple, weighing it in his hand. ‘Thank you for the gift, love,’ he smirked before moving his sword away from my neck and walking away.

As soon as the Templars had left, I broke out into violent sobs, clutching the only man I had ever loved close to me. ‘This is all my fault,’ I cried. ‘You could still be alive, if it weren’t for me. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.’

~

‘Repeat it to me,’ he said coldly, looking up at me from behind his desk.

I swallowed, staring down at the yellowing scrolls splayed across his mahogany desk. ‘Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent…’ I said quietly, my voice hoarse and barely audible. My skin was devoid of all color except with what parts were stained with dried blood and tears.

I could feel him continuing to stare at me; his dark, intense eyes never moving away from my face and all I could emit was shame.

‘…Hide in plain sight,’ I continued, shifting my weight between my legs and continuing to avoid his gaze. ‘Never compromise the brotherhood,’ I finished.

‘You’re exactly like your mother,’ my master sneered at me, suddenly standing from his chair and causing it to fall backward. He turned his back on me to look out his window. I closed my eyes and swallowed hard again, feeling beads of sweat forming on the back of my neck.

‘I did not intend on compromising our mission or the order. What happened…today…was a mistake. I did not…kill your son on their orders,’ I managed to get out; the words finding a difficult time of getting out. ‘I am not working for the Templars. I still live my life by the Creed. I am _not_ my mother.’

‘Your actions today mimic anything your mother has ever done,’ my master fumed at me, standing up and boring his dark eyes into mine. ‘We have a strict agreement with Odin. The Asgardian Brotherhood does not interfere with the city-‘

‘I know, master,’ I cut him off. ‘Though in my defense if I had been successful-‘

‘YOU WEREN’T SUCCESSFUL!’ my master yelled at me before storming over, his nose an inch away from mine. ‘Not only have you broken the agreement between Odin and us but you killed five innocent æsir in the process! _Five_. And due to your carelessness three of our brothers were killed today, INCLUDING MY SON. And not only that, but you let the Templars walk away freely with the Apple! Did you completely disregard everything you have ever learned today?’ he roared, moving away from me and pacing the room.

‘I apologize, master, but what happened today was not done intentionally,’ I told him quietly.

‘ _What happened today_ is worthy of a death sentence,’ my master said coldly, his voice eerily calm now. His back faced mine as he stared out the window, looking out at Taceatem. ‘Which I will schedule for tomorrow morning,’ he informed me quietly after a short pause. 

I had nothing left inside me to protest or fight back. I very well knew what the consequences were of breaking our tenets. I knew it would be useless to find a compromise. I swallowed hard. 

‘I apologize,’ was all I could mutter, my eyes drifting down in humiliation and acceptance.  

‘Your apology has no significance,’ he replied harshly. ‘It carries nothing towards me.’ He turned around and nodded his head to someone behind me and my wrists were suddenly tied together behind me. I didn’t fight them. I couldn’t. I allowed them to walk me down to a cell where they stripped me of blades and robes, leaving me in just my undergarments.

I laid down on my side, the cool stone providing relief to my burning cheeks. I had no more tears left. I had nothing left to cry. I felt nothing but shame and embarrassment and a reluctant acceptance. I had fucked everything up. I deserved this. I deserved nothing but this. If someone else in the order had done what I had done, I know I would have advocated for them to get the same punishment.

Despite what was expected the next morning, I fell asleep quickly.

_________________________________

“Rafael Julius is the name of our master and Jakob’s father,” I said to Loki, who had stayed surprisingly quiet throughout the whole story. “Early that morning I was woken up by a few of my order. They gave me a variation of our robes and my hidden blades back before sneaking me out of the city. Their connections with Heimdall allowed me to sneak into the city undetected….and the rest is history.”

"And what of this Rafael Julius?” Loki asked, raising a brow. “Wouldn’t he be looking for you?”

“Not necessarily. If he knows I’m in Asgard, he’s probably thinking that Odin will have me imprisoned or punished for crossing the border. Which technically happened,” you chuckled dryly.

“And what of your mother? Why the comparison by Julius?” Loki asked.

“My parents were assassins, assigned to the task of finding the Apples of Eden here. Turns out my mother was actually a Templar spy, taking the information my father was able to obtain and feeding it the Templars. Which I suppose isn’t that surprising, considering there have been plenty of double agents between the two groups throughout history. Keeping a long story short, my mother killed my father, who was then killed by other members of the Assassin Order, leaving me orphaned. Naturally, I was raised within the Assassin Brotherhood and became the person I am today. I suppose looking back at it now, I can see why my master interpreted my actions the way he did.”

Loki was quiet for a long moment as he thought over everything you had told him. You anxiously waited for him to speak again. “Does this change your view of me?” you asked him to break the silence.

He looked up and studied you. “Well, you certainly have a few skeletons,” he sighed before giving you a smile. “But I think that makes you much more interesting.”

You raised a brow. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

Loki laughed softly, leaning forward in his seat towards you. “If you’re interested, I can assist you in getting back into your order. That is, if that’s what you desire.”

“And say I did want to restore my honor with them, what would you do?”

“Odin still has that sphere in his possession. I’ll aid you in retrieving it and escaping Asgard,” Loki answered. “Give that to your order and you’ll be given a second chance, no?”

You looked at him slight surprise. “What’s in it for you?”

“Nothing. A favor from one friend to another,” Loki replied genuinely. “All I’m gaining is a resource in Taceatem.”

You thought over it for a second before nodding your head once. “Alright,” you agreed before pointing a warning finger at him. “But no tricks.”

Loki pretended to look offended. “It’s as if you don’t know me, darling.”

You snorted. “So where do we start?” you asked.

Loki gave you sly smile. “How about dinner?”


	35. Chapter 35

“Remind me again why I have to get so dressed up? It’s just dinner,” you mumbled miserably as Aidrith and Naelynn tightened the lacing on the back of your dress.

“Yes, but this a special dinner because it’s with your prince,” Aidrith replied with a grin as she finished fastening you in.

“He isn’t _my_ prince,” you clarified, though you couldn’t deny you secretly felt pleased at her words.

“If you say so, miss,” Aidrith said. “Though between us, you’re the first woman that Prince Loki has kept by his side. His affairs usually don’t last more than a week.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not a secret, Aidrith. It’s common knowledge,” Naelynn snorted delicately before giggling. “I know his mother is quite pleased. She was dancing around her room happily when I went in to take her linens.”

“I overheard her calling Gullveig a bitch and that she deserved what she got,” Aidrith snickered. “Quite the opposite language for her majesty, but she is quite protective when it comes to her boys. I have a feeling she’s secretly hoping for a marriage between you and Prince Loki! Aww, miss! You’ll become a princess!”

Your heart skipped a beat and stomach turned. “Marriage?” you said blandly, swallowing hard. “Don’t be absurd. Loki and I haven’t known each other long enough to get married. Also, I’m hardly wife material, never mind suited to be a princess,” you said dismissively. “Besides, he’s encouraged to take the hand of a woman for a political arrangement.”

“You really think that Prince Loki is going to care that much of what is expected of him?” Naelynn asked, raising a brow. “Sure he’ll feel pressured by Odin to marry another dignitary of sorts, but Loki is notorious for doing as _Loki_ pleases.”

“And what Loki wants, Loki gets,” Aidrith told you with a bright smile.

“Especially if his target is you,” Naelynn pointed out.

“Then what was all that shit with Gull-“ You're suddenly interrupted by a knock on your door. All three of you turned your head towards the sound.

“I’ll get it!” Aidrith volunteered pleasantly, scurrying over to the door. You turned back towards the mirror and examined yourself one final time. You nervously smoothed your dress to give you something to do with your trembling hands. Naelynn gently reached over and took your hands in hers.

“There is no reason to be nervous, miss,” she assured you with a smile.

“I’m not nervous,” you quickly denied, pulling your hands back. “I’m just…my hands shake when I’m calm.”

Naelynn raised a brow, giving you a dubious expression. “If you say so, miss.”

“Good evening, Prince Loki,” you heard Aidrith greet your date. You peeked out from the corner of your eye and saw her curtseying and bowing her head to him.

“Good evening,” you could hear Loki reply back politely. You returned your gaze to your reflection in the mirror, trying to control your rapid heartbeat.

 _Why the fuck am I so nervous?_ you thought, mentally scolding yourself. _There is no reason to be nervous. After everything we have done…this is silly._ You took a deep breath, trying to control the butterflies in your stomach, but it only seemed to make things worse. _Is it the prospect of a serious relationship? Oh gods, what if we do get married. How would he propose? Would it be in front of a large crowd? Or in front of Odin? Oh no, the wedding would become a big event, wouldn’t it? I would have to speak in front of hundreds of people at least. I don’t do well standing out…I prefer shadows…hiding…_

You stiffened slightly when another thought came you to. _Would we have children? How many children? Does he even want children? He’s never mentioned wanting children before… Wait, don’t be a fucking idiot. Why would that be something he would mention to you… Wait, has he not mentioned it because he doesn’t want any? Do *I* want children? I suppose I’ve never really thought about hav-_

“…Miss? Miss,” Aidrith’s voice snapped you out of your nervous, rambling thoughts.

“Yes?” you asked, turning and looking over at her.

“Prince Loki asked you a question,” she told you.

Your cheeks burned. _Of course he did._

“I’m sorry. My thoughts are…elsewhere,” you said quietly.

“Clearly,” Naelynn commented, making Aidrith giggle.

You kept a smooth, confident façade as you turned and looked over at Loki, though on the inside you felt like a nervous train wreck.

“My apologies, my prince,” you said smoothly, “Do you mind saying that again?”

Loki kept his eyes trained on you, his face completely unreadable. _Why must he continue using that indecipherable look? I never can know what he’s thinking. Wait, does he not want me to call him my prince? Or maybe he does. What if he **really** likes it, like it’s a kink for him? What **would** his kinks be? Hm, is a BDSM kind of guy…? Or maybe-_

Loki waved a hand dismissively to Aidrith and Naelynn. “Thank you, two, for your work. You may be dismissed. I can handle it from here.”

You blinked. _Handle what? What is there to handle?_

The two servants nodded and curtsied before scurrying out of your quarters. Loki continued to study you intently, causing heat to rise from your cheeks. You cleared your throat before speaking.

“Is there a reason for your staring?” you asked.

Loki stalked forward slowly, stopping within an inch from you. Your lips parted as you took in his clean scent, the faintest hint of vanilla mixed in. You seemed to become immediately intoxicated by it, all your worrying thought from earlier completely gone. He lifts a hand and gently combs his fingers through your hair. You felt completely captured, unable to move.

 _Was this another trick of his?_ you wondered. _How is able to do this to me? It isn’t fair._

“Have I left you completely speechless, Prince Loki?” you asked with a soft, breathy chuckle. The corners of his mouth lifted up slightly.

"I suppose that's one way to put it. Just wondering what could possibly be going on in your head,” Loki replied with a smirk. He leaned down and brushed his lips behind your ear and then down your neck, placing teasing, feather-like kisses. You felt your cheeks burn, though you kept your composure as you leaned your head to the other side.

Loki pulled back and gave you a small smile, an easy laugh escaping. “Pardon me. You look quite divine. I feel spoiled.”

“Yeah? You look like this look on me?” you asked with a small laugh, looking down at your dress.

“Well, seeing how you prefer to hide your fine body in unshapely robes and hoods, it certainly is a nice change in pace,” Loki complimented, his eyes traveling down your body hungrily.

“My robes are not unshapely,” you argued playfully, crossing your arms. “I think it shows off my figure quite well. It certainly gets the point across when I need it to.”

“Well, I suppose you’ll just have to demonstrate for me in the future and I’ll tell you myself if that’s true,” Loki said with a playful smirk, offering out an arm. “I’d be more than happy to observe.”

You snorted. “I’m sure you would be,” you said with a pleased smile, accepting his arm as he escorted you to the main feast hall of the palace.

When you arrived, you noticed that there were several rows of long tables, though there was one in particular that was set off to the side. It was set up nicely, complete with candles and a single, green rose placed on top of your plate. There was a servant standing attentively by it, ready to serve you wine.

“Went all out, I see,” you commented with a small smirk as Loki brought you over.

“Of course; it’s for you,” Loki replied easily as he took the seat across from yours.

You found your conversations with Loki to come easily throughout the dinner, all your nerves from earlier completely disappearing. Halfway through your meal, you noticed someone hiding behind a nearby plant, their eyes peaking through the giant leaves. It took a few minutes, though you finally realized that it was Frigga spying on the two of you. If Loki knew of her spying, he showed no signs of it. You held in your smile as you pretended to not notice that she was there.

After the final course had been cleared by the servant, you looked down at the table in front of you, suddenly remembering something

“What has you so deep in thought?” Loki asked curiously. You could feel his piercing green eyes studying you.

“The poem you recited to me earlier. It’s sparked another memory…of you saying another poem,” you said quietly before looking up at him. “But I don’t remember you actually doing that before.”

“Was most likely my brother’s doing,” Thor chortled as he took a seat near your table. A look of annoyance immediately passed over Loki’s face.

“I know you’re daft, Thor, but surely you can’t be blind as well,” Loki said with irritation. Without taking his eyes away from you, Loki pulls Thor’s chair out from underneath him so he falls straight onto the floor. “Now please do be kind and leave me and my lady alone.”

You looked over at Thor, trying your best to hold in a laugh and failing miserably.

“Nice to know you would treat me in such a way in front of a lady,” Thor grumbled from the floor.

You eyed Thor on the floor. “I'm glad my status with you has been promoted from criminal to lady,” you said to him.

Thor was about to say something, but was immediately interrupted by Loki.

“Just ignore the oaf on the floor. Please continue with what you were saying,” he insisted, his eyes still trained on you.

You looked from Thor over to Loki, thinking back again. “It was…almost like some kind of song or poem that was being spoken,” you said, your brows furrowing in concentration as you tried your best to remember.

“Can you remember any of it?” Loki asked, keeping his expression smooth.

“I believe…I think it went something like: ‘The bright lights of both her cheeks…burned onto me…from the fire-hall’s felled wood’…I think…”

Loki’s face stayed the same, though Thor raised his blonde eyebrows in surprise. He looked over at Loki with a knowing and amused expression. “Love poems, brother? Really?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea of what you are talking about,” Loki dismissed, his cheeks actually turning a faint red. He immediately busied himself with taking a long drink of wine.

“…Loki…is that _blush_ on your cheeks?” you asked, trying your hardest to hold back a grin. Loki glared at you from over his wine glass in response.

“My brother’s cheeks hath did turn the color of mother's roses in her garden!” Thor laughed loudly.

Loki turned his glare onto his brother. “Yes, Thor, keep your voice up! Let all of Asgard know!”

“There is only one person in all the nine realms who would have a poem that unknown memor- MPH!” Thor immediately stops talking when Loki shoves bread into his mouth.

“So it _was_ you that recited it!” you said, grinning now.

"You have no evidence that it was me,” Loki said lazily. “It's not polite to make assumptions.”

“Why would you be embarrassed even if it was you?” you asked with a cheeky smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be suave and confident?”

Loki sighed heavily. “Because that poem is a declaration of love-“

Your entire expression lights up though is quickly squashed by his next words.

“-which is not something I would have recited. I don't believe in such trivial things. You must have heard it from someone else.”

You sighed in frustration. “I know it was you,” you muttered under your breath as the two of you sat in awkward silence.

“Why don't I walk you back to your quarters?” he suggested suddenly, standing from his chair. He offered his arm again and nodded to the servant before the two of you left the feast hall. 

_Why is he so adamant about denying his feelings? you wondered. Have I really just been reading him wrong the entire time? Am I embarrassing myself by thinking he loves me back?_

“I've been thinking,” Loki started as he walked you back, distracting you from your thoughts.

“Oh? About what?” you asked curiously, looking up at him.

“How to get that Piece of Eden for you. Odin has had its location moved but with some snooping in his office I can easily figure out where,” he told you.

“And when do you plan on doing that?”

“We’ll have the information and the Apple in you hands by the end of the week,” Loki promised you, his voice sounding unusually strained.

“And then it's back to the order,” you stated.

“And then it's back to the order,” he confirmed.

You paused once you reached your door, silence blanketing over the two of you. You turned to say goodnight, though you’re suddenly taken off guard as Loki leaned down and gave you a kiss; an intense mixture of urgency and affection. “’ _If ever any beauty I did see_ ,” he began to recite in a murmur against your lips, his hand resting gently on the side of your neck.

“’ _Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee._  
_And now good-morrow to our waking souls,_  
_Which watch not one another out of fear;_  
_For love, all love of other sights controls,_  
_And makes one little room an everywhere.’”_

Loki pulled back all the way and you could swear you saw sadness in his eyes before he quickly put back on his smooth expression. “Sleep well, my lady,” he said before turning around and walking away.

~

The following morning Frigga had insisted on Loki joining her for morning tea, the warm Asgardian spring weather enticing all the plants to bloom in Frigga’s back gardens. Her freshly blossomed lilies surround a table placed by one of the many water fountains, making it the perfect place for meals and conversations.

“Mmm, I certainly love this warm weather,” Frigga hums with a content smile, lifting her face towards the sun.  

“It's alright,” Loki said with a small shrug, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.

Frigga looked curiously over at her son. “And what has you in such a sour mood on such a beautiful day?”

“Where has Gullveig been placed?” Loki asked, looking down at the tea cakes in front of him.

“Back in Vanaheim,” Frigga replied lazily, taking a sip from her tea. “She is currently facing punishment there. We deemed it better that she stay out of Asgard for the time being.”

“We?” Loki looked up curiously, raising a brow.

“Njörðr and I. Odin advocated for you to try the marriage again. Said what had happened was just a small hiccup.”

Loki snorted. “Of course he did.”

“Have you given more thought to the idea of marriage?” Frigga asked, hiding her hint of a smile behind her teacup. “I know you won’t want to jump back into so quickly after what happened, but still…”

“Well, considering Gullveig was a bust…” Loki is silent for a moment. “…Sigyn has crossed my mind occasionally…”

“There's a name I haven't heard in awhile,” Frigga commented with a small chuckle. “Beautiful, good with kids, an excellent magic user, an old friend…”

“Manipulative, greedy,” Loki finished with a snort before sighing. “Though considering her status…would be good for securing a higher position in court...be taken more seriously….”

Frigga studied her son’s face for a long moment. “Why must you always look through a diplomatic lens?” she asked sadly.

“Because it makes the most sense...”

“What of that other girl?” Frigga asked suddenly.

“What about her?” Loki asked, slumping down into his seat as he twirls a knife between his fingers.

“Sit up,” his mother commanded, waving a hand up and forcing Loki to sit straight in his seat. “She's beautiful, and strong, and intelligent, and-”

“And a mortal,” Loki interrupted glumly.

“And why does that matter?”

“Odin-”

“Odin’s opinions do not matter when it comes to love,” Frigga interrupted dismissively. “Which leads me to my next question: do you love her?”

“Is it relevant?” Loki asked back. “I agreed to help her get back to her order. At the end of the week I'll never see her again.”

“And you're sad about that?”

“I have no right to feel sad. She is not mine. She never was. Her place isn't here.”

“Well, have you asked her to stay?”

Loki looked at Frigga in surprise and confusion. “Why would I do such a thing?

Frigga laughs. “Oh, my beautiful silver-tongued son. How can one be so intelligent yet so clueless?”

“I’m not clueless,” Loki mumbled, slouching once again in his seat. “…I just haven’t felt this way towards another before…”

Frigga wiggled in her seat in excitement. “And what exactly is it that you are feeling?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

Loki was quiet for several minutes before speaking. “I've fallen in love with her, mother,” he admitted quietly – and making Frigga grin widely. “And for some reason she claims she loves me as well. Though I can't tell her how I feel. I can never tell her. It would only only lead her to being hurt by me. And if I were to ever hurt her…”

“It’s a risk everyone takes when they fall in love,” Frigga told him, reaching over and placing a hand on top of his.

“I can’t fall in love. Just look at me,” Loki grumbled, slowly turning into his Jotun form.

“I am,” Frigga said calmly, her kind eyes skimming over her son’s face. “And you are no less deserving of love, receiving or giving it.”

“Mother! Brother! I hope I’m not interrupting something important!” Thor’s voice boomed as he approaches their table in the garden. Loki immediately turned back into his æsir form. “I was just out for a morning run!”

“We are just discussing what’s in store for the future,” Frigga replied with a soft smile. “You are more than welcome to join our conversation about love.”

“Please, don’t, mother,” Loki mumbled miserably, slumping further down in his seat in embarrassment.

“Hast brother finally found himself a serious relationship with a lady?!” Thor asked excitedly with a big, doofy grin. He wrapped his arms around Loki, pulling him out of his chair in a tight bear hug.

“Close thy that from which we speak, brother, ere I do it for thee,” Loki muttered, squirming out of Thor’s embrace and sitting back down in his seat.

“I just never would have expected little brother to have found a lady he likes and she actually likes him back! Good luck with her!” Thor wished them before turning around to leave and go back to his run.

“And where do you think you’re going, darling?” Frigga asked before Thor could get far. “You’re not getting off the hook so easily. Your coronation is making its approach…”

Thor suddenly stopped in his tracks, his shoulders slumping forward as he turned back around slowly. “…And?”

“And I expect you to find a capable wife before then,” Frigga replied with a soft smile. “The marriage ceremony may come afterwards, but I would like to have at least have a plan of engagement before you are crowned.”

“And how am I to find a suitable lady in such a short amount of time?” Thor asked miserably.

“You could just pick one from the stables,” Loki suggested casually before taking a sip of his tea.

“And why do you suggest there, brother? Recommending based on experience?” Thor replied easily.

“…that’s not what happened,” Loki grumbled.

“Boys, that is quite enough,” Frigga interrupted sternly. “Thor, there is one woman in particular that comes to my mind; the one capable woman you’ve always trusted and kept at your side.” She pauses for a short moment. “Oorrr, you could let your father pick someone, but you’ve seen how that can go. Certainly you can learn from your brother’s drama?” she suggested, causing Loki to make a face.

Thor was quiet as he thought it over. “…Sif…I do not know…”

“If Loki can find someone who can make him happy, then surely you can have someone well suited to you as well,” Frigga said, reaching over and placing a hand on Thor’s arm. Thor smiled back at her.

“I will think it over,” he told her, making her grin happily.

“And on that note, I think I’m going to head inside,” Loki declared, standing from his seat and pressing a kiss on Frigga’s cheek. “Thank you for tea, Mother. I’ll see you again soon.”

“Make sure you keep me updated of what is going on!” Frigga winked as Loki turned to leave.

“I think you have that covered with your spying," Loki snorted, walking away. "Goodbye, Mother." 

“Just remember you can’t keep secret from me forever!” Frigga called after him.

“Goodbye, Mother!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poem: The Good-Morrow - John Donne (1572 - 1631)


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm incredibly sorry (again) that it's taken so long for this chapter to come out. 
> 
> Please forgive me for the late posting. <3
> 
> everyday garb: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/41/83/d2/4183d21fdf8802d5066b1ed55d24106a.jpg

_You fell straight onto your back, your head bouncing against the mat as you felt the wind become knocked out of you. You stared up at the ceiling before closing your eyes, your hands resting on your stomach as you caught your breath._

_“Your balance was off,” you heard a familiar voice say; a voice you hadn’t heard in years. You looked over and saw your father walk towards you. A sudden, hard wave of immense happiness crashed over you. You swallowed hard._

_“Dad?” you called out, your voice hoarse._

_“You’re weak on your left side,” he told you, offering out his hand. “You need to make sure you’re guarded. They’ll exploit that angle as soon as they discover it.”_

_You reached up and took his hand, noticing your own was half its size. He lifted you up to your feet with ease and you immediately realized how small you had become._

_He ruffled your hair and you squirmed away, trying to escape. His breathy laugh reached your ears as he wrapped his massive arms around you to prevent you from getting away. “And where do you think you’re going?”_

_“To fight the bad guys!” you replied with a laugh of your own, trying to squirm out of his arms._

_“Oh? And why are you going to fight the bad guys?” your father asked, his grasp around you only tightening._

_The feeling of being held nearly brought tears to your eyes. His arms always made you feel safe and protected; the only steel cage that you would ever welcome._

_"Because that’s what I’m supposed to do,” you replied easily._

_He sighed your name as he sat down with you, his arms still tightly wrapped around you. The two of you sat in silence before he finally spoke again. “I want you to know that this isn’t the life I would have wanted for you.”_

_You looked up at him and saw almost a pained expression painted onto his face. “Why are you sad?”_

_Your father chuckled softly. “I don’t think it’s just sadness I’m feeling, little one. More…guilt…remorse.”_

_You didn’t understand your father. No matter the reason, you couldn’t help but feel responsible. “Is it because of me?” you asked softly._

_“No,” he answered immediately and a little sharply, causing you to jump slightly. “No,” he said again, this time making sure his tone was much softer. He unwrapped his arms around you to place his rough, calloused hands on your cheeks. His dark blue eyes bore directly into yours as he spoke._

_“We do what we do because it’s the best thing. We fight for individual freedom; we fight for the people. Civilization and its ideas can only flourish properly when there is freewill; when the people are not oppressed by authority. The others…the others think the opposite. They believe that a peaceful world can only be achieved through power and oppression of individual freedom. It is our duty to make sure that never happens. Never forget that.”_

_You felt more confused than ever. “Who’s ‘we’?” you asked. “Who’s ‘they’? Master says that he doesn’t like that you don’t tell me things when I practice with him.”_

_Your father sighed, closing his eyes. “Because I hope that you can still get out. Lead a normal, safe life.” He reopened them and you could swear you saw tears forming. “We, as in you, me, your mother, Jakob, Master, and everyone else who works for the order. They…the Templars…are the bad guys you seem so keen on fighting,” he smiled weakly, ruffling your hair again._

_“And I will,” you replied back with a grin. “Master say that my arms and legs are too skinny, but I’ve been working extra hard so they get really strong. But it’s not fair. I work just as hard as Jakob and he’s already twice my size.”_

_Your father laughed softly, holding you again. “I’ll let you in on something. I may be bigger than your mother, but she would be the first to knock me to the ground. You may be not always be physically stronger, your muscles may not be as big as theirs, but all that means is that you fight smarter; outwit them,” he told you, taping his temple with his finger. “They can’t fight back as easily if they don’t know what you’re capable of. Use it to your advantage.”_

_You nodded your head, taking his words in. “I will,” you said determinedly._

_He rested a hand on your cheek. “My beautiful girl,” he murmured, his scarred lips pulling up into a soft smile._

_You suddenly felt tears welling up in your eyes as you took in his familiar smile. Gods, you missed that smile. You missed his scent, his warmth, his laughter, his loving hugs. You wanted him back. No, he’s right here. Looking at you with a look he reserved solely for you. You remembered how people would talk about your father’s cold expressions. How he was always so serious. But he never looked that way towards you. He looked at you as if you were his whole world. And it was because of that look, you trusted him with everything, including your life._

_You noticed the room around you to fade._ No, no, what’s happening?! _you thought frantically._ Why is everything going dark? No…

_Your father’s smile suddenly disappeared at the same time a knife positioned itself on his neck, nearly nicking you in the process._

_“Run,” your father whispered urgently before the knife slashed to the left, producing a thin red ribbon across his neck. Blood quickly poured out, traveling all down his front. He continued to gasp for air as he slumped forward, the blood soon traveling onto you. You screamed on the top of your lungs, hysterically looking behind your father to see who had done it. Behind him stood your mother, wiping the blood of her blade with a cloth._

_“M-mother?” you called out, your voice surprisingly calm despite what you were seeing. A hint of silver caught your eyes, causing them to flicker down to her chest. There you saw her wearing a thick cross over her heart. You knew this symbol. Your master had shown it to you many times in different books and scrolls; the Knight Templar. You began to panic. Your breathing hitched dramatically when your mother started to stalk towards you, her grip on the blade tightening…._

~

You awoke with gasp, sitting up straight and causing your sheet to fall to your lap. Your chest heaved up and down as you tried to catch your breath. Your eyes stayed fixed on the wall in front of you, unblinking at the flickering flames of one of the lanterns hanging on the wall. You had no thoughts; only the imprinted image of your father’s neck being split open. It was so vivid; it was as if he were still right in front of you on the bed. The feeling of a tear slipping down your cheek suddenly tore you away from the image. 

You quickly brushed away the tear with the back of your hand, sniffling and holding back the rest that threatened to fall. You buried your face into your hands, staying still until you noticed your forehead was slick with sweat. Your attention was suddenly brought to how hot you felt. You noticed your hair had matted itself to the back of your neck and your face and chest were shining with sweat. You quickly pulled the covers off of yourself to escape the hot enclosure, immediately making your way to the washroom. 

Your legs felt heavy with lead as you shuffled forward, feeling completely drained of energy despite having slept all night. When you reached for the taps above the tub you noticed your forearms were covered in bright pink lines sweeping across your skin. You sighed audibly, gently rubbing the scratch marks with your palms before filling the tub with cold water.

You drew a sharp gasp when you eased into the tub, gritting your teeth as you lowered yourself. Despite your body protesting against the cold nipping at your skin, you stayed in the water as it undoubtedly provided relief. As you washed, the cold sunk deep within you, reaching your bones and causing a harsh shiver. When you finally finished and stood from the tub, your lips had paled significantly and your entire body was shaking. Anything to distract from the pain you felt in your heart.

As you stood in the tub, you stared at yourself in the mirror; your eyes traveling down and across your body. You brushed your fingers tenderly along the healing scar on your abdomen. You flickered your eyes down the scar on your thigh before glazing over all the other scars that were scattered along your body; earned from the blades of others having permanently marked you up. You used to be proud of your battle scars; they were a mapped out history of all the times you had conquered another. But now, after seeing the pristine, blemish-free skin of a lot of the female royalty and goddesses, you felt deformed rather than empowered.

You sighed again before finally stepping out of the tub and wrapping a towel around yourself. You made your way to your closet, immediately reaching for your robes but pausing when your fingertips grazed the stitched together linen and wool. You pushed aside the red and white fabric and instead grabbed a leather shirt with a charcoal cotton wrap and a dark brown turtleneck tunic. You quickly dressed and pulled on your worn leather boots before finally venturing out of your room.

No matter how much you tried, you couldn’t shake your dream off. Your father’s face continuously appeared in your mind, just as vivid as you first had saw it. As your frustration continued to grow, you suddenly realized you wanted to talk with a particular queen.

You sauntered into the kitchens, passing Fandral and Hogun who were busy stuffing their faces with breakfast. They briefly looked up as you walked by them, clearly noticing something was wrong though you ignored them.

You grabbed a couple slices of freshly baked ham, stuffing one in your mouth while keeping the others in your hand. You left without saying a word.

You scoured the halls of the palace in search of Frigga, peeking into various rooms in hopes of seeing her majesty just to find them all empty. Right when you were starting to feel discouraged and were about to give up, the sound of Thor’s thundering voice brought your attention towards the throne room. Out of curiosity, you immediately changed your course for the enormous, golden chamber. The guards on either side of the massive door ignored you as you peeked your head in. You spotted Frigga and Thor on the other end of the throne room having a very animated conversation. You looked back over at the guards before heading inside, surprised they let you go in without protest.

You walked in with confidence, though inside you couldn’t help but feel unease. You felt out of place; that you were trespassing an area you didn’t belong in. 

“Thor, darling, please lower your voice,” Frigga pleaded softly, keeping her grip on his arm, “unless you prefer for all of Asgard to hear your personal matters.”

“How am I to keep my voice down after what Father has told me?” Thor said through grit teeth, though his voice still doesn’t lower. He attempted to keep his temper in control in front of Frigga, though clearly he was struggling to accomplish such a task. You felt invasive listening to a conversation you knew you weren’t supposed to hear, but you were too close to them now to just turn around. “I cannot allow him to dictate when and how I’m going t-”

Thor stopped immediately at the sound of you clearing your throat when you reached them, surprising yourself that he was even able to hear such a quiet noise. The two of them look over at you and you instantly felt uncomfortable under their gazes. They both stayed silent, clearly waiting for you to speak. You cleared your throat again.

“My apologies for interrupting,” you began. “I did not mean to intrude, but I was hoping to have a word with her majesty. Though I’ve clearly come at a bad time, so I’ll just go...”

“Nonsense,” Frigga said dismissively just as you turned to leave. “I was just about to advise Thor to head down to the training grounds and have him rid of some of his pent up anger. Having a conversation with such high emotions does not lead to rational decisions.” Frigga looked up at Thor as she said this, causing his angry expression to melt more into a sulk. “I will discuss matters with you after dinner in my parlor.”

Thor sighed headily and nodded, running his hands through his hair and swiftly making his way out of the throne room without saying another word. Frigga watched him leave for a moment before looking back over at you with a smile. “Now, what can I help you with?” she asked, gracefully taking a seat on the throne.

Your eyebrow lifted slightly at her action. “Odin?” you inquired.

“Is off hunting,” her majesty replied. “He’ll be returning tomorrow at this time. Until then…” She finished by gesturing her hand towards the empty room.

You nodded, feeling relieved that Odin wouldn’t have the chance to interrupt you – or throw you out of his throne room. “Ah, well, I was curious about the advice you had given me earlier. About my past affecting my current mindset…”

“Ah, yes. And have you headed my advice by telling someone about what has occurred?” Frigga asked, keeping perfect posture as she listened.

“Yes,” you answered, though didn’t want to admit with whom.

“And to whom did you tell?” the queen immediately questioned. 

You sighed mentally. “Loki,” you revealed, which earned you a twitch of a smile from the queen.

“An interesting choice. Not who I would have expected,” Frigga commented, clearly trying to hold back a grin. “And?”

“And I’m still having the dreams,” you replied with a frustrated sigh. “You told me that once I explained to someone about my past, to clear my conscience, that these things would stop. They’re not. I just…I just don’t want them taking over me at an inconvenient time.”

Frigga didn’t answer right away, taking her time to study you as she thought over what you had told her. You couldn’t help but look away from her, your eyes focusing on the details of the throne as her presence started to feel a bit overwhelming.

“I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable,” Frigga said sincerely, finally breaking the silence. “I am just thinking of what it could be. I reckon it has to do with your attachment to past events; you have yet to carry onward from what ever has occurred. I assumed that you telling Loki about such events would be the method in which your mind would finally let go and move forward, but it seems it was not enough.”

“Not enough?” you repeated, your brows furrowing slightly. “What more could I do?”

“Let go of your past completely,” Frigga responded simply. “You are physically here, but mentally in the past. It is time to move forward to a new life. Create new roots, relationships, a new life.”

“Here?” you asked, surprised. 

“If you wish,” Frigga replied nonchalantly, her shoulders shrugging lightly. “You can choose whatever path you desire; which ever one is most fitting to your desires. Whether that is in Asgard or Vanaheim or even Midgard. However, returning to the city of Taceatem…returning home to your order may not be the wisest decision in terms of ridding of your guilt.”

“And what if that is where I wish to return?” you countered. “What if I feel that would be the best decision of how to clear my wrongdoings. They could help me heal.”

“They could, yes, that is a possibility,” Frigga said with a small nod. “And if that’s where you feel it’s best to be, then so be it. Just heed my warning that it may not yield the results you desire. However, no matter your decision, you have my support and aid in getting there.”

“I understand and thank you,” you replied with a nod of your own. “I just feel that my time here is limited and my welcome is already starting to wear out.”

“Nonsense, you are always welcome here in my eyes, especially if your connection with my son is what I hear it is,” Frigga told you, her eager smile retuning to the corner of her lips.

You paused, wondering what she could have possibly heard and from whom. “Pardon?”

“I think she means to say she’ll stop listening to the inane gossip of the servants,” you heard Loki suddenly say, immediately turning your head towards the sound of his voice. You watched him stroll in casually from a door that was located on the side of the room. Though his body was relaxed, his eyes conveyed a clear warning towards Frigga to not say any more. “You should know that such drivel is made up by the servants to entertain themselves.”

“Ah, I suppose I should,” Frigga replied with a smile, unaffected by Loki’s glare. “And to what we owe the pleasure?”

“I actually need a word with the assassin. Especially if she wants to return to her home,” Loki replied, shifting his gaze towards you. 

“You are helping her leave?” Frigga interjected with slight surprise. “I would have thought…you got her to stay here.”

“To keep her from being punished from Odin, yes. Now I realize keeping her here under Odin’s command is punishment. She belongs back in Taceatem, with her order,” Loki replied easily. 

“I would not have predicted…this is unlike you, Loki,” Frigga noted aloud. “Hmm, I suppose when it hits us all, love-”

“Alright, I think that’s quite enough,” Loki quickly interrupted, placing an arm around your shoulders and leading you towards the door he had came in.

“- makes a person do things they would not have otherwise expected,” Frigga finished determinedly with a grin. “I wish you luck in whatever you plan. Also, if you see Freyja around please send her my way.”

“Yes, thank you, appreciated, will do,” Loki mumbled as he continued to lead you out of the throne room.

You didn’t say a word, though looked up at Loki with a knowing smile and accusing eyes. He ignored your gaze, keeping his focus on your destination. You knew he was keeping something inside of him, something he didn’t want you to know and you were determined to get him to admit it.

“You can stop looking at me like that, you know,” he finally spoke as you entered into what looked like an office. He dropped his arm from around your shoulders to close the door before heading to sit behind the giant desk centered in the middle of the room. 

“Like what?” you asked with a smirk before beginning to explore the room. “I didn’t know you had your own office,” you commented as you looked over the different trinkets, artwork, and treasures he had on display. You stopped at a particular, worn painting that showcased him when he was younger, standing next to a blonde. _Freyja?_ you wondered, studying the girl’s face. _No, that can’t be right._

“You know exactly the look I’m talking about and yes, I do. I originally was just going to attach it to my chamber’s library for convenience, but I ultimately decided it was undesirable having where I work and play so close together,” he told you with a smirk of his own, leaning back in his chair.

“Such tough decisions in the life of a rich prince,” you commented with a small snort, turning around and taking a seat across from him. “So are you really going to help me return to Taceatem or was that just an excuse to pull me away from Frigga?”

“I’m really going to help you,” Loki answered, straightening up and digging out papers from a giant pile in front of him. He placed one in front of you that contained the blueprints of a building you hadn’t seen before as he shuffled through the rest. 

“And what is this?” you asked, pulling the diagram to you and studying it.

“A depository belonging to Odin,” Loki told you as he placed more papers in front of you. “I’ve been figuring out where Odin could have relocated that sphere of yours and I believe this is where he has placed it. Heavily guarded, of course, though not many know of its location so those on duty aren’t as alert. With a little planning we’ll be able to strategize an easy route in and out,” he continued, pointing to different attack plans splayed in front of you he had already created. “I’ve already accounted for your abilities, or at least the ones that I have witnessed. You’ll have to inform me if I got anything incorrect or if there is something you have that you think is more useful.”

You looked over the different options, feeling impressed that he had put so much detail into each plan. 

“How long did this take you?” you asked curiously, not taking your eyes off the paper. “You’ve accounted for so many different factors…”

“I may not be on the battlefield often, but I have read more than my share of books and have sat in plenty of meetings to know the best strategies, dependent on the situation, of course,” Loki said lazily as he watched you carefully. “Do you find any problems?”

“A few, but they can be easily fixed,” you answered. “I’m actually surprised how much you know of what I can do.”

“I found books on your order. Read up on what is traditionally taught,” Loki told you casually, causing you to look up in surprise. He grinned at your reaction. “I have to know my enemy.”

“Enemy?” you reiterated, raising a brow. “Since when did I become your enemy?”

“The second you stole something of mine,” Loki replied vaguely, clearly enjoying the confusion displayed on your face.

“I’m afraid I don’t follow,” you told him, hoping for clarification. “When did I steal something of yours?”

“Oh, a while ago, I’m afraid,” Loki replied with a dramatic sigh, playing it up. “Something I had forgotten I even had. And as soon as I realized I had it again, you took it from me. Not that I’m necessarily complaining, but I must be wary of thieves.”

You only felt more confusion at his answer. “Why the cryptic answers? I never have stolen anything from you. I think your mistaking me for someone else.”

“Oh, I’m afraid not, dear. It was definitely you,” Loki said with a dramatic look of sadness. 

“Can you at least tell me exactly what it was I stole then?” you argued, crossing your arms.

Loki continued to look at you with amusement before he suddenly gave you a more serious look. He leaned forward closer to you before speaking.

“Something fragile, so please don’t break it while it’s in your possession,” he replied vaguely again, leaving you more confused than ever. He looked down at the plans on his desk, bringing your attention back to the task at hand. “Now, where would you like to start?”

You were about to ignore his attempt at changing the conversation and continue to question him, but you decided it would best just to drop it. _No use in arguing with him if he’s just going to continue to be stubborn._

~

You stayed in Loki’s office all day planning for the raid at Odin’s depository, with Loki happily sending a servant to bring you multiple meals throughout the long session. You were pleasantly surprised on how easy it was to work with Loki, expecting him to be difficult about the changes in his plans. Instead, he compromised often, taking what ever you had suggested seriously, and would change the details without a single argument. He kept his usual, snarky comments to himself, almost as if he were trying to make the entire experience…enjoyable for you. You felt at ease working with him, finding yourself becoming more and more comfortable with him as time passed. 

When the two of you had finally finished agreeing upon the best strategy, you leaned back in your chair, lifting your arms above your head with a large yawn. Loki sat and rubbed his own eyes before standing and adjusting his clothes.

“Well, are you ready to go?” he suddenly asked.

The front legs of your chair slammed back down to the floor as you looked up at him in slight surprise. “Right now?”

“Yes, right now. It’s the best time,” Loki replied lazily as he scooped up the several dozen sheets of paper filled with the different notes and diagrams off his desk. He shuffled them together and patted them down before walking over to a wooden cabinet and unlocking it, placing the plans inside. 

“Oh, I would have expected in a day or two, not immediately,” you said as you watched him lock the cabinet back up. 

“Yes, well, Odin is currently on his hunting trip and won’t return until tomorrow morning. Best time is now to avoid any direct suspicion from him. He’ll also have work for me for when he returns; can’t aid you if I’m off doing work for him, can I?” Loki explained as he walked back towards you. 

“I’m curious, what will you tell your father when my absence is eventually noticed? How will he handle my service for him ending early?” you asked, keeping your eyes trained on him.

“I will tell _Odin_ that your order had come to the border and collected you,” he answered, “and I doubt that will be an issue. As much as this might hurt to hear, he’ll be relieved that you’re gone from Asgard. There is no place in the palace for a mortal, no matter how exceptional her abilities might be.”

You couldn’t help but feel irritated at Loki’s response. Not to the fault of him, but Odin. You knew that the Allfather would have such a position of you, though you were still hoping that it might not have been true. Though you were starting to get used to living in the palace, you knew it wasn’t meant to be your home. You knew you didn’t belong there and that they would kick you out when your service was no longer welcomed. 

_So why do I feel so disappointed that it’s now happening?_ you asked yourself. No, you knew exactly what the answer was. A couple weeks ago, you would have killed to be released early, but now…now you wanted to stay. And it wasn’t because comfortable amenities or impressive feasts; it was because of the man standing right in front of you. The man you were falling in love with. 

“So no issue then that I didn’t fulfill my entire time working for him and Thor?” you checked.

“None at all. It’ll probably be best for everyone,” Loki answered simply, his expression entirely smooth.

“Alright, I’ll go and change then,” you told him, standing from your chair and immediately heading towards his door.

“I will meet you by the stables,” Loki informed as you left.

~

As you were leaving your room with your proper robes now on and weapons in place, you paused. You looked over at Naelynn and Aidrith’s door, debating on whether or not knocking to say goodbye. _No, I’ll let them sleep_ , you decided before walking down the hall and leaving your place at the palace behind.

~

The night air was cold when you walked outside, your breath immediately making a visible appearance. Though you knew you felt disappointed you were leaving, you pushed those feelings aside. You couldn’t have such nonsense clouding your mind on such an important night. You needed your full focus and attention be on collecting that sphere, not on leaving Asgard or your feelings for Loki. You knew better than to allow unimportant, personal matters affect your work. _It’ll be worth it_ , you promised yourself, _when I have the Apple in my hands and I’m accepted back into the order…It’ll be worth it…_

The sound of your boots scraping against the dirt filled the silence of the night as you made your way over to the stables. As you approached, you found Loki sitting on a wooden barrel as he waited, his dagger twirling rapidly between his fingers as he wore a bored expression. You noticed he already had two horses prepared for the both of you, ready to go.

“Ready?” Loki asked, standing from his makeshift seat and sheathing his dagger before effortlessly mounting his black steed. He nodded his chin towards your brown thoroughbred for you to do the same.

“Yes,” you answered confidently as you hooked you left foot into the stirrup before hoisting yourself up in one swift motion. You quickly tucked your hair back into your hood before flipping it over your head, already feeling more comfortable to be back into your robes.

“Good,” Loki said before directing his steed to stand closely next to yours. You eyed him questioningly as he reached over and placed his hand on your cheek. His pale skin felt smooth against yours, the warmth of his palm soothing compared to frigid air around you. Loki’s green eyes, darkened from the night and limited light from the stable lanterns, observed your own intensely. You couldn’t help but feel your breath become slightly caught in your throat. 

You were glad that the night covered your faintly blushing cheeks so he was unable to see, but you still had the suspicion that he still knew exactly what you were feeling. In a brief moment, his face flashed sadness before he quickly covered back up with his same old façade. 

“Let’s go,” he said in barely above a whisper, spurring his horse and sprinting forwards.

~

You stopped a mile short of the depository, tying both your horses up on a random post before venturing the rest of the way on foot. Your target location was hidden in plain sight, tucked within a crowded section of industrial-like buildings. From the outside, one would never know the treasures and valuables hidden within. You walked in silence the entire way, obvious tension filling the short distance between the two of you. Your hand rested only an inch away from his and you felt a desperate need to reach over and take it. You wanted to touch him, though you knew you shouldn’t. He wasn’t yours to touch. _Stop this self-pitying_ , you scolded yourself. _This is your decision. So what if things didn’t work out the way you had been secretly hoping? This is for the best._

You hated this awkward tension and wanted to be rid of it. You wanted the easiness you had felt just a few short hours ago in his office. 

_Less than an hour_ , you reminded yourself, _less than an hour and I’ll never have to see him again. Whatever is between us can be forgotten. This uncertainty…this awkwardness can go away. My life will return back to normal._

“This is where we separate,” Loki murmured softly, though the sudden noise caused you to jump slightly. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face you, his expression unreadable once again. 

“Loki, I-”

“Will try not screw things up? Please. I don’t need to bail you out of trouble with Odin once again,” Loki interrupted, the smallest hint of smirk on his lips. “Remember, your entrance window is directly northeast of this path. Get yourself a high vantage point and you’ll spot it easily. As long as you stick to your directions, and I to mine, we’ll be in and out before you know it. You’ll only have a small amount of time from when I disable the field around the sphere, so please try not to dawdle.”

“Unless I get there first,” you replied with a smirk of your own, taking a step towards him.

“In which case, I will meet you there,” Loki said with a single nod, taking a step back before turning all together and disappearing down an alley. 

You sighed quietly as you watched him leave, waiting until he was completely gone from your sights to quickly climb the nearest building. As soon as you reached the rooftop, you sprinted towards your destination, easily jumping the gaps between buildings. You welcomed the crisp, cold air into your lungs, letting them fill completely before sharply exhaling it out. You felt a small, twinge of pain come from your ribs and thigh as you continued forward but you ignored it, letting the muscles work themselves out after days of being stationary. 

You kept your eyes trained on the depository in the distance, all your worries and thoughts from before disappearing the closer you got to your target.

~

Forty minutes and eighteen dead bodies later you dropped down from one of the ceiling beams down to the floor, a grunt escaping as you landed. Your carefully constructed plan with Loki had thus far been executed flawlessly, his knowledge of the building and those within it only increasing your impression of him. _Damn him._

"I told you not to dawdle. And you were confident you would make it before me,” Loki’s lazy drawl was heard behind you. You straightened up and made your way to the podium in the corner of the room, passing by Loki without saying a word. You only had a few minutes to grab it before reinforcements were to arrive.

“So I assume then everything went smoothly for you as well?” you questioned as you stared down at the glowing, golden sphere. It’s light casted onto your face as you took in what you were about to receive. Your future, and the future of others, depended on that Apple. It was your ticket back home.

“Without a hitch,” Loki replied dully, walking up behind you. “I found a replacement object in the other room. It’ll be safe to put your hand in and take it the moment I’ve countered its protection. You’ll only have a few seconds to do so.”

You nodded your head in understanding, positioning your hands just above the rippled air surrounding the Apple. 

Loki did the same, though his own hands glowed a dark green as he started to slowly move them around the invisible barrier. It looked as if the air were melting around the sphere the longer Loki kept his hands there. Your heart beat quickly in anticipation. _So close_.

“Get ready in three…two…one…”

“Got it!” you said in triumph as soon as your hands snapped forward and snatched the Apple. The moment it was safely in your hands, Loki dropped the decoy onto the podium and removed his hands, the rippled air immediately returning around the small area. You breathed a sigh of relief as you clutched the Apple, closing your eyes and feeling the power within it radiating in you hands. _I’ve got it. I’ve finally got it. The order…they’ll take me back…I’m going home…_

“No time for daydreaming,” Loki said harshly, his voice pulling you out of your small trance. “We need to leave now. They’ll be arriving any moment.” 

He immediately made his way towards a hidden door in the back of the depository, making no haste in his escape. You followed after him, running back into the shadows of night.

After the both of you cleared enough distance from the depository, your pace slowed down enough to where you could walk. Similar to when you were arriving, you traveled for awhile in awkward silence. You wanted nothing more than for the tension between the both of you to disappear.

“This is where we part,” Loki announced when you reached a division in the path you were on, his voice sounding unusually strained. “Take a left here and continue forward until you see the path to the bifrost. You’ll pass a few stables on your way there, so you can steal a horse if you don’t wish to travel the rest of the way by foot.”

You nodded your head, keeping quiet. This is it. You had so much to say and yet couldn’t pull a single thing from your head. _He’s going to leave and I’ll never see him again…and I’ve absolutely nothing to say. Why have I got nothing to say? Why isn’t he saying more?_

You felt your voice caught in your throat as you looked down at your newly acquired prize. You rotated it in your hands as you continued to draw a blank. “Thank you,” is all that came out in the end.

“You are most welcome. Safe travels,” Loki replied, his tone smooth. You couldn’t help but feel disappointed at his words.

You nodded again before turning and walking away, not saying another word to him. _I’m such a fucking idiot_ , you scolded yourself. _THAT is how I leave things?! This is not like me. What happened to the me that would have told him what I wanted…the me that wouldn’t haven’t accepted such a measly goodbye._

Your walk soon evolved into a run as you tried to escape the area as quickly as possible.

_No, that was not me back there_ , you thought as you continued onwards. _That was a fool. Is this really what I want? Is the order really where I want to return? What would they provide that I wouldn’t get here as well? What could they do for me anymore? Why hadn’t I taken Frigga’s words more seriously? I thought…I was so quick to think that Taceatem was what I wanted, what I needed…but now…_

_Perhaps Frigga was right. It’s time to let go of my past completely. I should have listened to her. Asgard…Loki…could become my new home_.

_No_ , you thought firmly, _it’s already become my home. I will not run away, not again. It’s time to move on to a new life._

The more you thought over the situation, the more your running slowed down – not even realizing when you had come to a complete stop. As you attempted to catch your breath, you finally knew exactly what it was you wanted.

_Loki…why didn’t you tell me to stay?!_ you suddenly thought angrily. _He could have easily kept me there if he wanted. Everyone says he keeps what he wants- …unless he doesn’t want- No. No more guessing games. There’s only one way to find out once and for all._

You spun around and immediately sprinted back towards where you had separated, your heart pounding in your ears. You prayed that he hadn’t reached the horses yet, feeling yourself run faster at the thought. You were terrified that you were too late. That there would be no way to return to the palace once he’s already left, especially with the Apple in your possession. 

Your body flooded with immense relief the second you saw his figure again. You thanked the gods that he hadn’t reached the horses yet. _I’m not too late_. You cared not if anyone noticed the two of you at this point, you were determined to get his attention back again.

“Loki Laufeyson, I am _not_ leaving!” you shouted.

Loki turned around, your name leaving his lips in a surprised tone. Your running slowed down into a march as you stormed towards him. You shoved the sphere into his hands the moment you finally reached him. 

“You’re what?” Loki asked, making no effort to cover the shock on his face. He held onto the sphere, though he didn’t even realize you had just given it to him. “What are you doing? You should be going to Taceatem…not…what are you doing…I don’t get…”

“I’m not going anywhere,” you replied stubbornly, surprised yourself at seeing the silver tongue tied for words. “And how dare you help me get the Apple and leave!”

Loki blinked several times, his face seeming to be stuck conveying nothing but disbelief before it finally switched to confusion. “Huh?”

“Oh, for fucks sake, Loki. Just say it already!” you cried, feeling exasperated with him. “You didn’t want me to leave and yet you helped me to leave? Why? Why didn’t you just say ‘stay’ if you wanted me to?!”

Loki continued to look down at you in silence, his face still conveying bewilderment. When he finally speaks, his voice is barely above a whisper. “I wanted you to stay?”

“Oh, don’t play this game with me,” you warned him. “And _please_ , Loki, don’t switch this around and make it about me. Don’t be tricky with your words and twist your meanings so I can’t figure out what you’re saying. Just tell me how you feel. And if I’m wrong, and you feel nothing, I’ll leave right now,” you threatened, taking a step back. When he continued to say nothing, your heart sank. You turned and started to walk away.

“No, wait, please,” you heard Loki plead and you immediately stopped in your tracks. You waited for him to say more but he fell silent once again. Your hands balled into fists as you started to walk again. _If he can’t say it, do I really want to waste my ti-_

“I love you.”

You stopped short. You hadn’t expected him to actually do it. You slowly turned around and faced him, your face guarded. 

“Pardon?”

You saw Loki swallow hard before slowly crouching down to place the sphere gently on the ground. He straightened back up, his eyes never leaving yours. Your name left his lips a second time, this time much softer.

“I love you,” he repeated quietly. “…I’ve…for the first time in my life…I’ve fallen in love with someone…and it’s with you.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. "…No tricks?" you confirmed warily.

A small, breathy chuckle escaped from him. “No tricks,” he assured, his body relaxing slowly, though clearly still uncertain about the situation. “This is not a matter I would willingly gamble with.”

“I see,” you said quietly, as you try to wrap your head around his words. It was now your turn to fall silent. _He loves me. He’s finally said it…_

Loki raised a brow at you, clearly waiting for a proper response from you. A grin slowly made its way on your face.

“Say it again,” you pressed as you started to walk back towards him.

“Hmm, say…what?” Loki asked with a teasing smirk, his arms crossing as he returned back to his normal stature.

“Say it again,” you repeated, this time more threatening as you strolled forward.

“No,” he denied you playfully.

“You will say it again.”

“You’re going to have a try a little harder to get me to then,” he teased.

You gave him one last playful warning look before crouching down, ready to pounce at him. He kept his lips pressed tightly together as he shook his head in refusal. 

“You asked for it,” you warned before you sprinted the rest of the distance between the two of you. Your body collided hard with his; your arms and legs wrapping tightly around him. He caught you effortlessly, his arms holding you close to him. A joyful laugh escaped from him as he held you against himself; the first time you ever heard such a sound come from him.

“I love you,” he murmured into your ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AliORfBeZlo


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written by LilLokiCat ^.^
> 
> Chapter semi-inspired by the following image: http://orig02.deviantart.net/7619/f/2010/257/7/8/assassin__s_creed__india_by_merkymerx-d2yqs7d.jpg
> 
> Credit goes to the artist, merkymerx on devianart. http://merkymerx.deviantart.com/art/Assassin-s-Creed-India-179288905

“We need something discrete to hide this in,” Loki said, gesturing towards you with the sphere as you walked back to your horses. “We don’t want anyone noticing it’s in our possession when we return.”

“I don’t have anything on me we can use,” you told him, “perhaps we can stop by someplace and get something?”

“And where do you propose at this ungodly hour?” Loki asked, raising a brow slightly.

“Some leather craftsman’s shop,” you replied with a small shrug. “Come on, this way. I think there’s one near here.” Without a second thought, you turned in a different direction and headed towards an area that you remembered was filled with different craftsman shops.

“Ah, here we are,” you said proudly when you found the shop you knew you remembered seeing before. You peered into the aged and scratched up window to see if anyone was awake inside. You found it, unsurprisingly, completely empty. You scanned the room to see shelves filled with different leather bags, shoes, and clothing, as well as several workbenches and hundreds of different tools lining the walls. Just as you were contemplating on how to get in, you heard a soft click and immediately looked over to your right. There you saw Loki tampering with the lock of the door and a second later, gently pushing it open.

He gestured for you to enter first. You went in and immediately searched for a suitable bag. You quickly spotted a small, chestnut colored satchel that would just be able to hold the size of the Apple. You picked it up and looked it over, deciding that it work. You were willing to just steal it, figuring that leather worker wouldn’t miss it too much, but Loki shook his head. He reached into his pocket and left several silver coins where the bag used to rest on the shelf.

You looked down at the coins and started to feel a little guilty.

“I’ll pay you back when I can,” you said quietly.

“Don’t be absurd, you don’t have any money,” Loki commented offhandedly as he left the shop.

“You didn’t have to pay for it,” you told him as you followed after.

“Of course I did. I can’t be in someone’s debt, whether or not they even know it,” he replied, re-locking the door when you both made it back outside. He reached for the bag and carefully placed the Piece of Eden into it.

“Hide the satchel until I can find a proper place for it,” Loki told you as he placed the strap over one of your shoulders.

You nodded. “Let’s get back before the sun rises,” you said, turning and making your way back to horses.

“Good plan,” Loki replied lazily, following after you.

~

You didn’t realize how long the ride back to the palace actually was, finding yourself arriving just as the sun was coming up from behind the horizon. You and Loki quietly snuck into an unguarded entrance, making sure to stick to the emptier corridors to not draw attention to yourself or your newly acquired prize. The people you did pass were servants who had just awoken, still bleary-eyed as they started their early morning chores. When you turned one of the corners, you saw a familiar blonde woman walking towards you.

“Ah, Freyja, good morrow,” Loki greeted the unnaturally beautiful goddess. “I’m surprised to see you awake and walking around at such an hour.”

“Unfortunately, I was pulled out of my important slumber by your mother. As much I respect and love her majesty, I almost put a dagger in her side,” Freyja said with a small scowl, rubbing her eyes. When she removed her hands, you were surprised to see them slightly bloodshot.

“Freyja doesn’t do well with mornings,” Loki explained quietly in your ear.

“You very well know why too, Laufeyson,” Freyja said, looking down and smoothing out her dress. “Frigga knows why too. Though apparently her baby boy’s wedding is more important than my rest.”

“Wedding? Who’s getting married?” you asked curiously.

Loki sighed quietly. “Most likely Thor. Odin’s been yammering about him needing to get married for a while now. He’s frustrated that he hasn’t found a bride yet. He must have finally given a final warning.”

“Which is why her majesty thought it important to wake me up right at dawn. I just finished discussing potential brides with her. She wanted my help finding the best one for Thor, as Odin’s choice would most likely end up being horrid.”

“And who’s the lucky lady?” Loki clearly asked out of courtesy as his tone conveyed slight boredom.

“Who do you think?” Freyja asked back, raising a brow slightly.

“Ah, well, I’m sure Lady Sif will be thrilled hearing she’s now engaged,” Loki replied lazily.

“She doesn’t even know yet? She doesn’t get a choice?” you questioned.

Freyja snorted. “Not many of us do. Thor will be good to her. He’s one of the better ones around here, believe it or not. Oh, and Loki, Frigga wants you with her when she speaks with Thor. He should be calm and safe to talk to by now, but she wants you by her side just in case,” Freyja informed him.

“Ahh, so that’s what Thor was so upset by yesterday,” you realized, finally understanding Thor’s mood from the day before.

“He isn’t too pleased about being forced to marry at the moment. Which is why Loki’s special tongue here is needed to help explain the situation to him more calmly. Help him realize the importance of the situation and why Sif is the best choice,” Freyja said as eyed your bag curiously, the soft golden glow coming from within it finally grabbing her attention.

Loki nodded once. “I will go speak with him now.” He looked down at you before leaving. “Get some rest. I will see you soon,” he said, placing a hand on your arm. He acknowledged Freyja a final time before walking away.

You watched him disappear around the corner and when you looked back over at Freyja you saw her wearing a smug smirk. “What?”

“There’s something different about you two,” she said, narrowing her eyes accusingly and crossing her arms. “He finally said it, didn’t he?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you replied as you started your own walk back to your quarters.

Freyja rolled her eyes before following after you. “Don’t play me as a fool. I can sense something is different. And what are you hiding in that bag?”

“Something between me and Loki,” you answered, keeping your attention forward. You hoped your answer would stop her questioning but it only made her thirsty for more information.

“Something between you and him? What is it? Did he give it to you?” Freyja reached for the bag but you managed to grab her wrist before she can take hold of it.

Freyja sighed dramatically as she jerked her hand away. “Fine, don’t tell me. It’s not like I was the one who helped get you two together in the first place.”

You gave her a dubious look. “I believe I did most of the work on that one.”

Freyja crossed her arms again. “Not true. It was me who motivated your ass to do something about the Gullveig situation. I’m the one who told you all about her. I’m the one who gave you advice on how to break Gullveig’s spell. I’m the one who-”

“Fine. I’ll give you credit for equal work. That better?” you interrupted before turning back around.

“It’ll have to do for now,” Freyja replied with another dramatic sigh, following after you again. “So are you going to answer my previous question?”

“And what question is that again?” you asked, bored.

“Did he finally say it? Did he finally reciprocate his feelings for you?” Freyja repeated.

“Yes,” you answered, figuring she would go away sooner if you were to humor her.

“Aha! I knew it!” Freyja exclaimed happily. “I knew it was only a matter of time. Boy has been keeping that hidden within him for far too long now. Oh, _wait_ until Frigga finds out! Woman will be throwing a party!”

You turned your head to give Freyja a questioning look, to which she rolled her eyes at.

“Oh, not a _real_ party. Well, perhaps one in her study alone. But she will be so pleased that Loki has finally committed with someone.”

“Well, now that you know he has admitted his feelings, can I be off to my room now?” you asked her, trying to stay polite as her presence was starting to feel a bit overbearing.

“Of course. I need to go back to sleep anyways. Have fun with your prince,” she wished, kissing your cheek before turning in a different direction.

You froze immediately at the kiss, placing your hand on your cheek where her lips had been. You watched her leave with surprised eyes, wondering where the hell that had come from. Regardless, you let out a quiet sigh of relief when she was finally gone, happy to make your way back to your quarters in silence.

When you entered your room you spotted something lying at the end of your bed. You walked over to it and noticed it was an outfit that looked similar to your robes. You picked up the piece of parchment that laid on top of the new garments.

_A variation of your robes. We were inspired to create something a little different for you. Perhaps these can provide a more ceremonial purpose rather than for actual combat. We hope you enjoy them. Try it on and see if it fits.  
Naelynn  & Aidrith_

You tossed the paper back onto the bed before picking up your new robes, immediately taking in how little cloth there actually was. _When am I to ever actually wear these?!_ you asked yourself as you continued to eye them over. Instead of breeches, you were given shorts with a small wrap around them. Instead of a tunic and a shirt, you were given one simple top that cut off right at your midriff. _I would never wear this in public. It would immediately grab someone’s atten-_ An idea suddenly clicked in your head.

You decided to have some fun.

You unhooked the satchel from your shoulder and gently pushed it under your bed before walking into your washroom to quickly freshen up from the night before. Despite not having slept the night, you didn’t feel exhausted in the slightest. In fact, the adrenaline that was now starting to pump within you was making you feel even more awake. You quickly pulled on the new robes and adjusted the red sash so it draped diagonally across your toned belly. You slid out the belt from your other robes and clasped it over the shorts. Instead of reaching for your normal knee-high boots, you found small ankle boots in the back of the closet supplied to you. You took yourself in in the mirror, adjusting the fabric of the robes in some places. You hated to admit it, but you liked the way you looked in them. The shorts and the boots showed off your legs and despite the top being short, it tastefully showed off enough skin to tease. You flipped the hood that was attached to your shirt over your head and took in one deep breath before leaving.

It took a while to find Loki. You weren’t able to find him in the places you first expected so you decided to ask a passing servant where Frigga’s study was located. When you reached what you believed to be the right door, you kept your back against the wall beside it and got as close as you could so you could hear inside. When you heard Loki and Frigga’s voices talking inside, your lips twitched upwards in a small smile.

You left the door, letting the two continue their conversation in private, though you stayed close by to wait until Loki finally left. You made sure to stay hidden within the casted shadows the pillars created, keeping your eyes trained on the door. When he finally emerged some time later, you followed the prince down the large corridor, making sure to stay hidden away from his view.

As he walked, Loki drew out his dagger and toyed with it in his hands; twirling it between his fingers absentmindedly every which way. He passed a guard who was watching his movements carefully, clearly gauging whether or not the prince was about to become a threat – a look that did not go unnoticed by Loki either. He gave the guard a wicked smirk that immediately made the guard's attention quickly shift away.

"No fun," the prince chuckled darkly as he resumed his walk. He paused at the end of the hallway where it split into two different directions. You stopped only a few short feet away from, watching him as he contemplated between returning to his quarters or to go in the direction of the feast hall. He balanced the tip of his dagger between his right index and middle finger as he made his decision.

You stayed half hidden in the shadows as you leaned your left shoulder against the wall, crossing your arms and ankles. A smirk the only thing visible on your face. “You should know better than to play with the guards,” you said to him.

“It can be such an easy game when they’re new enough to not kno-” Loki’s words stopped and he did a double take when he looked over at you. He swallowed hard and the dagger was gone in an instant. He crossed his arms as he looked you over, his eyes grazing over your entire body. “Well, this is quite...unexpected.”

Your smirk grew slightly as you shifted your position, your back now against the wall. “It’s my thank you for helping me receive the Apple. You didn’t have to spend your entire day planning and going out with me to get it. You went out of your way for me. So, I decided to give you a treat.” You turned to face him once again before slowly walking backwards, returning to the shadows.

“A treat well appreciated. More so if you’d stop hiding,” Loki growled playfully, pressing forward into the shadows after you. With a sudden movement, he pressed up against you so you’re carefully pinned against one of the pillars. His hands moved slowly up your sides, evaluating and leaving behind goose bumps in their trail. “Hard to think they offer any real protection.”

“They function simply for ceremonial purposes. But that doesn’t mean I’m at any less of a disadvantage.” You easily ducked underneath one of his arms, tugging your hood further down as you continued to walk through the shadows.

You heard a small gasp of surprise escape Loki’s throat that turned into a chuckle as he followed after you. “Very clever. Where _are_ you headed?”

You shrugged. “Wherever I please.” You turned to face him, walking backwards. “Where were _you_ headed?”

“I had been considering breakfast seeing as I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I had asked Mother to join, but she’s busy helping plan some trivial event,” he said lazily. “You should join me.”

“I don’t think my attire is suited for a casual meal in the feast hall. I feel that would be a bit awkward. Though, if you wish to eat breakfast, go right ahead. I have to warn you, however, I might not be here when you get back.”

“Now, why would I waste an opportunity with you on the boorish company I’ll end up finding there?” Loki crossed his arms with a smirk. “I’d much rather join you in my quarters and go hungry in favor of your marvelous company.”

“Is that so? Then I would suggest catching me quickly,” you said to him with a smirk, picking up your pace.

You suddenly felt the presence of another person behind you but you weren’t fast enough to react and step aside. Their arms quickly wrapped around you in a steel embrace. You turned your head to find another Loki looking down at you with a victorious smirk. You looked back at the real him to narrow your eyes.

“I want to see if _just_ Loki can catch me. No cheating.”

“You will use the tricks of your training – how is that not equally cheating?” Loki asked with a small scowl as he continued to slowly stalk towards you. You continued to give him an unamused look, which caused him to sigh heavily and dismiss his clone with a lazy wave of his hand.

“Because sometimes there’s more than one way to get me. I may have my training, but don’t forget that you have your silver-tongue,” you told him when you started your walking back up, making sure to keep just enough distance between the two of you.

“But it would be so much more fun to catch you,” he chuckled with a smirk. “Tell me, if I had gone to breakfast, where would you have gone?”

“Wherever I pleased, of cour-,” you stopped short when your back suddenly hit the wall and a small grunt escaped from you. You kept your face expressionless to hide the shock you felt at the sudden impact. You hadn’t expected to reach the end that quickly.

Loki quickly closed the distance between you and arms appeared on either side of you, trapping you against the wall. He leaned down to place kisses down the side of your neck. “I meant more to actually address that you wouldn’t be here when I was done. There aren’t many places to go where I couldn’t find you.” He gently bit where your shoulder and neck met before straightening up to look you in the eye. “You seem to have cornered yourself, love. Why don’t we drop the silly game and just take advantage of a quiet morning together? You can make the event however you wish…nestle by a fire…” He ducked his head down to kiss along your exposed collarbone. “…using your new lover to fullest extent of your own pleasure…”

He looked back up you, patiently waiting for your response. You skimmed you hands up his torso, gripping his shirt to tug him closer to you. “You can start with a kiss,” you murmured.

“As you wish, my lady,” Loki mumbled, taking no time to lean back down and slip an arm under you to sweep you low in a deep, impassioned kiss. He pushed your hood down with his other hand to brush his fingers into your hair as his lips hungrily tasted yours. His grip around you tightened as he pulled you further into himself, drawing the kiss out for an impressive length. You hooked one leg around his waist to pull him even closer to your own. You returned his kiss fervently for a moment before expertly maneuvering yourself from his arms once again.

Loki actually staggered slightly when you’re suddenly gone from underneath him, leaning against the wall to catch himself with a breathy chuckle. You gave him a smirk before turning around and slinking around the corner to take another path that lead back to his chambers. You weren’t surprised when Loki caught up with you in an instant, offering out his hand as he walked beside you. You accepted it and slowly slid your hand into his.

When you finally reached his door, you pushed him roughly against it and pressed your body hard against his. You heard a small grunt escape him as you reached up on your toes to reconnect your lips with his.

“Mmm…” Loki refrained from saying anything more, wrapping one arm around you to pull you even closer. The other hand seemed to wander against the door as he blindly searched for the handle.

You broke away to attack his neck and collarbone with kisses, tasting his skin as you noticed his own breathing beginning to pick up. “I want you,” you murmured against his skin.

“Then you shall have me,” Loki murmured, opening the door right then. You felt yourself jerk forward from the movement, though Loki caught you easily as you both fell to the floor. He closed the door with one of his feet as you felt his long fingers slip past the fabric around your waist. He dipped his fingers into you, turning them with each of his swift movements. Your hands gripped the top his arms in response, your eyes fluttering shut. “How do you want me to take you this time, my darling?” he asked huskily in your ear, teasing you by slowing down the pace of his fingers.

You reopened your eyes to look into his own darkened ones. “On the balcony,” you spontaneously answered, surprising even yourself with your response. “I want all of Asgard to know I’m now yours.”

Loki actually shuddered in response, pausing and looking at you with surprise before giving you a malicious smile. “As you wish,” he murmured, withdrawing his hand to get up with you still held against him. You wrapped both of legs around him to make it easier as he kissed you greedily, working his way to the double-doors that sealed off the balcony from the rest of his bedroom.

Goose bumps appeared on your exposed skin the moment the cool, crisp morning air hits you. You slid one hand underneath his shirt, running your fingertips over his chest and stomach, memorizing every divot and curve of muscle that hid underneath.

Loki closed the doors behind you before pinning you up against them carefully. His hands gripped your ass tightly for a moment before using one of his knees to support you instead to free his hands. One immediately slid back into your shorts rubbing teasing circles as the other gripped the back of your neck, working each sensitive spot. “You decided where you wanted me…still not how,” he murmured lustfully.

You buried your face into the side of his neck, nipping amorously at the skin to contain your soft moans. His scent completely encapsulated you as you tried to keep your head clear. “I want you,” you told him in a raspy voice, “I want you to fill me up deep and hard until I can’t take anymore and I’m a breathless, trembling mess under you.”

“Hold onto the rings of the door,” Loki commanded, removing his hand from you to free himself. You did as you’re told, grabbing hold of the rings until your knuckles turned white with anticipation. He pulled aside your shorts and pressed up into you without any hesitation. A small gasp escaped from your lips as you leaned your head back against the door, your face contorting in pleasure as you took all of him in. He held for a moment, lining your neck with attention from his lips and teeth as his hands nestled in the folds of cloth at your sides. His fingers dug hard into your skin as he clutched you against the door. You pulled him even further into you with your legs.

“Good girl,” Loki growled in approval, digging himself as far into you as he could reach before drawing back and slamming back into you hard against the door. The rings moved with you, making it sound like someone had knocked. After a few more hard thrusts a deep, husky laugh escaped him. “I hear you knocking, darling – are you coming in?”

You snorted at his horrible joke and were about to comment on it before you were suddenly silenced by another hard thrust, causing a moan to come from you instead. “Just like that…” you encouraged.

A pleased smile formed on his lips before he leaned his face close to yours, nuzzling your cheek as his own eyes closed. His breathing became increasingly heavier as he controlled himself, his own grunts making his way to you from deep within his chest. He moved one of his hands from your waist to slip them under your shirt and caress your breasts one after the other in turn.

“I want to feel you clench around my cock, love. Again and again; to have you drain my strength with each moment of ecstasy until you pull my own from within me,” he moaned against your ear.

A deep flush traveled from your chest and up your neck at his words, causing a shudder to travel up your spine.

“Then don’t stop,” you groaned into his ear. You tugged on his earlobe with your teeth before placing hot, wet kisses down his neck – marking him as your own. You bit into his shoulder a little harder than intended at a particularly hard thrust, though if he felt any pain from it, he didn’t show it. Your legs tightened further around him as his thrusts became faster and faster.

“Never,” Loki murmured breathlessly, moving you from the door and over to his reading table. He shoved all his books aside without a second thought before laying you down on it. He pulled his shirt off of him in one movement and tossed it aside before doing to same with his pants. He lifted one of your legs against him to drive into the new angle, hitting a choice spot deep within you. When it caused a particularly loud gasp of his name to come from you, he smirked. “There, isn’t it?”

“Fuck, yes, it’s there,” you told him, gripping the end of the table on either side of you. “Keep going,” you encouraged, biting your lower lip.

“Can’t waste an advantage,” he purred, running his fingertips down along the leg he was holding as he as he gently bit the inside of your ankle. He continued to glide against the spot back and forth causing you to clench harder against him, your lower back lifting from the table in response. Your thoughts were nothing but about Loki; the feeling of him entering you with every thrust, his teeth and warm breath gazing your skin, his hands caressing and squeezing your inner thighs. You had no regard to the fact that you were completely out in the open where if anyone could see if they looked closely. It added to the thrill, to the ecstasy that was completely taking over your entire form.

You suddenly heard him faintly hum some kind of tune, though you couldn’t figure out whether it was to the rhythm he was using or a distraction to keep himself from giving in at any moment. You looked up at him curiously with a teasing smile and he immediately noticed. He dropped his song to grin lasciviously at you. “Yes?” He let go of your leg to lean over you and press even further into you.

You immediately forgot what you were about to say the moment he shifted his movement and instead groaned, wrapping your arms around him. You dug your fingertips into his back as you wiggled underneath him to match his own movement and cause even more friction against your bodies.

“Mmm…” Loki hummed, sneaking his hands between the two of you to massage deep, circling caresses on your breasts. He moved with increasing speed with each stroke, looking down at you with pleased smirk and you noticed his own pale skin turning slightly flushed. “I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the way you squirm under me…”

“I’m so close. I want you…to cum with me,” you told him quietly, your voice becoming overtaken by heaving breathing.

“D-amn…” Loki groaned as his will started to unravel already at your words. “I had put good work into that, and your magic undoes it in an instant. My obscene little witch…”

“Sorry,” you moaned with a soft chuckle before taking one of hands from your breasts and guiding it down to your clit. “I’m so close, Loki. Just...a little…bit more…”

“You lie to me, I know you’re not sorry,” Loki murmured, moving his hand willingly. You gasped when you felt a sudden chill come from his fingers as he moved them quickly back and forth. The knot in your lower stomach became tighter and tighter with each quicken movement until it finally reached its snapping point. As you tightly clenched around him, Loki nearly collapsed against you in response, just barely catching himself on the table as he lost his own control. He buried his face against your chest with indistinct murmurs, though you were able catch your name at least once as he pulsed and twitched within you.

He continued to lay on top of you, catching his breath before chuckling softly and kissing softly up your neck. “Mmm, you are quite the delicious treat, no matter how you package yourself.”

You smiled and turned your head to the side, looking out at the incredible view displayed out in front of you. The sun had risen significantly and the entire city of Asgard was now awake; its people going about their morning business.

You rested a hand on the back of Loki’s head, lightly stroking his hair. “Do you think anyone heard?” you asked with a lazy chuckle.

“Yes!” Sif voice called from somewhere far above you in the general direction of Thor’s room. Your cheeks flushed darkly at the response though Loki’s chest shook as he tried to hold back his laughter.

“Sorry!” you called up at them before covering your face with your hands. “Oh gods,” you groaned under your breath in embarrassment.

“I’m not!” Loki laughs, getting up and sliding out of you with another shudder.

You sat up on the table to quickly catch Loki and give him another kiss - though this one was much slower and sweeter. When you tried to stand, your knees buckled from underneath you and you had to grip Loki to prevent yourself from falling. “Well, you certainly exceeded in doing what I requested,” you chuckled.

“Allow me,” the prince said with a grin, easily scooping you up into his arms and carrying you back inside. “How about a hot soak to help your poor lower body recover from the abuse I put it through?”

You audibly groaned from the thought. “Yes, please. That would be amazing.”

“I thought so much,” Loki chuckled with a warm smile, carrying you into his washroom. He waved a hand and the tub automatically started filling itself with hot water and the calming scent of vanilla and lavender soon reached your nose. He gently stripped you of what was left of your clothing before carefully placing you into the tub. He placed a finger under your chin and lifted it to give you a soft and lingering kiss. He broke away when there was a sudden knock heard from the other room. He sighed quietly.

“I’ll have to join you another time, I’m afraid. I have dreadful feeling of who that it might be,” he murmured against your lips before straightening. “I’ll get one of the girls to leave clothes and food for you when you’re done,” he said as he exited the bathroom, closing the door behind him to give you privacy.

You sunk deep into the warm water with a content sigh, taking in the soothing heat that washed over your body. You took your time bathing, letting the water thoroughly heal all your aches and small pains. When you finally finished, you reluctantly climbed out of the tub and wrapped a towel tightly around yourself before walking into Loki’s bedroom. Right as you entered, you spotted a servant you haven’t seen before setting down a large tray onto the table.

“Loki?” you inquired as you walked over to the table and lifted the cover of the tray. A large bowl sat in the center that contained a porridge made of cracked barley oats, honey, and pears. Next to that sat a half a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread and a glass bottle filled with buttermilk.

“He told me to inform you that he will return shortly. The Allfather has returned from his hunting trip and requested his presence,” the servant told you. She walked over to you and suddenly removed your towel from you. You immediately covered your breasts with an arm.

“What the hell?!” you asked as she pulled a beige linen shift over your head.

“You needed to be dressed,” the servant answered simply, helping you pull your arms through the sleeves. When you were properly covered she turned back around to ladle some of the gruel into one of the smaller bowls for you.

“I could have done it myself,” you mumbled as you took a seat at the table and tore a piece of bread for yourself.

“My apologies if I made you uncomfortable, miss. I’m used to automatically helping Lady Freyja dress,” the servant said as she placed the bowl in front of you.

“You work for Freyja?” you asked curiously as she handed you a wooden spoon.

“I am the goddess’s personal handmaiden, yes. My name is Amma,” she informed you as she poured you both a cup of tea and a glass of milk.

“Why are you serving me instead of helping your mistress?”

“Lady Freyja does not require my service at the moment and I was the first person Prince Loki came across. Though I work directly for Freyja, I still cannot disobey the prince’s orders when he gives them to me.” Amma handed you cloth table napkin before clasping her hands behind her back. “Is there anything else you need me to do?”

You shook your head. “No, thank you.”

Amma nodded once before turning on her heel and walking out of the room. You watched her go before looking down at your breakfast, suddenly realizing how starved you were. You quickly devoured your meal, even taking seconds and then thirds of the porridge before finally feeling full.

Exhaustion soon took over after you finished eating; the events from night before and the morning creeping in. You looked over at Loki’s enormous bed, wondering if you were allowed to sleep in it without him being there. _He shouldn’t mind. I can’t walk back to my own quarters with just this thing on_ , you reasoned as you stood from your chair.

Before crawling into his bed, you closed the giant curtains in front of each window and the double-doors of the balcony, blocking out all and any light. You turned and faced the bed with a small smile before taking a running head start and diving right onto it. You immediately felt yourself sink deep into the mattress as you reached for one of his pillows. You noticed it still smelled of him and you let out a long, content sigh as you fell right asleep.

~

Only a short hour later you felt the bed jostle slightly. You furrowed your brows in irritation at being woken up, though didn’t open your eyes in hopes of just falling back asleep. You suddenly felt an arm snake around you as you’re pulled against another body. You placed a hand on top of theirs, your fingers automatically intertwining. You fell back asleep to the feeling of Loki’s soft breathing against your neck.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)
> 
> Co-written by Lillokicat.

Two weeks passed by quickly. It seemed that the entire palace had been thrown into chaos preparing for Thor’s wedding, every servant working from dawn to dusk to prepare for the grand event.  
Frigga had suggested for you stay out of sight for the time being. So, you heeded her advice and did exactly that. While Loki was stuck helping prepare, you spent your time training with the Warriors three. You were glad your strength was coming back, the soreness surrounding your two major scars slowly diminishing.

Your free time was spent with Loki – reading, talking, having sex. Whenever he had a moment free, he would steal you away from whatever you had been doing to enjoy your body. Some days his touches were sweet and gentle, while others he was rough and possessive, hungrily ravaging your body. You welcomed them all. You felt yourself becoming closer with Loki with each conversation, each touch, each kiss. He had not only become your new lover but a confidant, a best friend. He listened intently to each of your stories and adventures in the order, the assassinations you had to carry out, your parents, your friends. And very slowly, he began to do the same with you.

Though he still seemed guarded about some topics, he opened up about his childhood, his relationship with his brothers and Odin and Frigga. He spoke of his love of magic, how Frigga had encouraged him to pursue it when everyone else had reprimanded him for it, telling him that it was shameful that he was following a woman’s art. There were still things he refused to speak of – past relations, his biological father and brothers. His connection with Jotunheim remained a mystery with you, but you knew it was best not to pester him about it, figuring he would tell you when he was ready.

Loki had created a secret compartment under the floorboard of his study where he had hidden the sphere in a safe. News had traveled to Odin about the break-in and theft, though there hadn’t been any witnesses to report back as to who was responsible. Loki had forged a report that the suspected thief had been a man “seen” lurking around the depository earlier that day – whose description could match any of the thousands in Asgard. 

When the time had finally come for Thor’s wedding, thousands had shown up from across the different realms. Sif hadn’t been pleased about finding out she was to be wedded, as expected. She took out her frustration and anger in training; nearly taking out Hogun’s eye several times. However, she gradually came to accept it, keeping her resolve calmer though was still clearly not pleased that she was being forced into an arranged marriage.

Freyja led you into the throne room that afternoon, where it was completely packed. She had actually given you a gown for the occasion, going on about needing to look a certain way and perfect for the event. To further your shock, she even sat down and braided your hair herself.

You hadn’t thought it possible to fill such a huge hall, but it had been done. Asgardian and Vanir warriors were placed more in the back of the throne room, while royalty and the gods got access to the front. _Frigga certainly put a lot of work into this_ , you thought as you saw how intricate and detailed all the decorations were. 

"Her Majesty has a keen eye for details," Freyja said you as she pulled you in further, seeming to read your mind. "I've always admired her style. Of course there a few things that I would have done differently, but...oh well." Her shoulders raised in a light shrug. 

"How many people are here?" you asked her as you scanned over the massive number of unknown faces that surrounded you, all chattering and gossiping excitedly. 

Freyja shrugged again. "Let's see, all of Thor's mates, a majority of the gods and goddesses, diplomats, higher royalty, anyone with money. All from various realms, obviously. You can tell by the way they look." She lazily gestured to a shorter man who could rival Volstagg in width, but certainly not in height. "Dwarven, from Nidavellir," she told you before gesturing to a guard standing behind the dwarf. He was covered head to toe in ornate, golden armor. "Though covered, his size clearly gives away that he's a jotun. I'm certain he was given the strictest of orders to stay to the side and to keep covered. I am curious as to how he got such a position, though." Freyja stared at the tall armored man for a moment before turning away. "I suppose it's none of my business."

She continued to lead you towards the front of the throne room, pointing out various people and their names that she recognized. You suddenly noticed one woman in particular walking towards you with a soft smile resting on her lips. "Ah, and this is Sigyn. She was a friend of mine and Loki's when we were younger,” Freyja told you. “In an opposite case from the other old friend you had the misfortune to encounter. She was a very gifted æsir and left Asgard when she was a teenager to pursue and enrich her education in magic and politics. Sweet, but got caught up in her work and so she lost touch over the years."

"I could say the same of you, Freyja," Sigyn replied as she walked closer. You scanned the woman from head to toe, taking her in. She was tall and slender, dressed completely in dark purple. Her blonde hair pulled away from her face in intricate braids that ended halfway down her hair, leaving behind the rest as waves that fell to the middle of her back. You couldn’t help but admit to yourself that she was stunning. Her larimar blue eyes were complimented by thick eyelashes and soft features. You noticed that her skin was flawless, not a single blemish to be seen. Her beauty was paralleled to those around you, but still couldn’t quite match that of Freyja’s. You swore you recognized her, having seen her face somewhere before.

“I'm surprised you were even on the guest list,” Freyja commented, giving her a gracious smile, though you swore you also detected a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

Sigyn only smiled, revealing perfectly straight, white teeth. "I see you still haven't changed after all these years, Lady Freyja. I'm glad. I would have thought after being passed around so freq-"

"I take no shame in what I do, Sigyn. It’s a weak card to play against me," Freyja interrupted dismissively. You suddenly felt trapped in between a conversation you weren't meant to be a part of. You let your eyes wander the room, looking to see if there was a seat you could escape to. "So how are you after all these years after ditching us suddenly and never returning? I know Loki was in quite the state and extremely disheartened when you never wrote back to him."

You perked up at this. You immediately looked back towards Sigyn to see her still pleasantly smiling.

"I never received any letters from him. Well, none at the time. I did receive a personal, hand-written invitation for the wedding, though,” Sigyn told the both of you. “Seems that my presence is still wanted around the palace.” She looked behind you before briefly skimming the crowd. “Speaking of Loki, have either of you seen him?”

"With Thor, I'm afraid. You'll most likely have to wait until after the ceremony to speak with him," Freyja replied. “He is currently helping him get ready.” 

“Ah, shame. I was hoping to catch him before the ceremony,” Sigyn sighed with disappointment. “Well, I hope you two enjoy the wedding,” she wished before walking off to mingle with the other guests.

“She was originally taught alongside Loki and Gullveig. She’s always excelled at her craft, always striving to be the best. She was always a favorite of Frigga’s and especially of Odin,” Freyja informed you quietly after Sigyn left. She continued to pull you to the front of the hall until you stood at the very front of the crowd.

You immediately thought back to the painting you had seen in Loki’s office, the younger version of him standing next to the blonde. Now you knew why she looked so familiar. _I wonder why Loki has never mentioned her before. Perhaps that’s a good thing. Doesn’t feel a need to bring her up-_

"Oh, and there's some of Thor's other brothers," Freyja whispered next to your ear, pulling you away from your thoughts. "Baldr, Vidar, and Vali," she listed, nodding her chin towards each as she named them. All three men stood on the steps to the throne as they waited for Thor and his bride to arrive. Freyja immediately began to fix her hair and smooth out her dress.

"Why is it that I've never seen them around before?" you asked.

"They're always off doing something or another. Usually found either in training or battles themselves," Freyja answered with a smirk.

"Baldr is every woman's dream groom," you heard a woman suddenly say from beside you. You looked to your left and saw a new blonde standing beside you. "Not exactly my taste, but I certainly see the appeal. Do you mind if I squeeze in here?”

"Good to hear that I don't have to worry about you taking him from me then," Freyja said lightly as she continued to eye the older brother.

“Of course not. I’ve my eyes set only on seafarers. Rán,” she introduced herself right as Thor suddenly entered with Loki trailing behind him, both of them dressed in their finest clothes. She extended out a hand towards you. You graciously accepted it and told her your name as well, nodding politely. 

Rán noticed Thor’s sudden appearance, smirking as she watched him and Loki make their way up the steps. “I hear rumors about you and-” She's quickly cut off when Sif entered the throne room and everyone goes quiet, indicating that the ceremony was about to begin. 

~

"I need a drink," Freyja mumbled as she brought you into the feast fall where everyone slowly piled in.  
Though Freyja had stayed by your side and had kept you company throughout the event, you still felt lonely and a bit lost in such a massive crowd. You yearned for Loki’s presence again.

“Quite the ceremony, hm?” a voiced suddenly murmured in your ear.

“I’ve never seen something quite like it. Though a lot shorter than I expected,” you commented, grinning up at Loki. Freyja went off to search for her drink now that you were reunited with someone else you could trust.

“There’s no need for anything superfluous. Æsir are too eager to get to the drinking,” Loki replied with a chuckle, a hand sliding to rest on your lower back.

“BROTHER! I AM MARRIED!” Thor exploded from behind you. He squeezed in between the two of you, wrapping his arms tightly to pull you both into a hug. You could smell ale on his breath and you wondered how he had already gotten into the alcohol.

“I am quite aware, Thor, I was there,” Loki said, his tone unamused as he squirmed to get out of his grasp. “Shouldn’t you be with your bride?” he asked as soon as he was able to escape.

Thor gasped as he realized, letting you go. “I need to go find her!” he said, stumbling away. “SIF! MY BRIDE! WHERE HAVE YOU WANDERED OFF TO?!”

Loki nudged you and gestured over to the head table of the feast hall where Sif was already sitting, her face hidden behind her hands in embarrassment. You couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m certain she’ll warm up to him.”

“I hope not anytime soon. I want to hear stories of her clocking him over the head,” Loki laughed. He offered you his arm. “Shall we go and enjoy the celebrations then?”

You smiled, reaching over to accept his arm.

“She will not be joining our table,” you heard Odin suddenly said as he walked up behind you.

“Then I will join her somewhere else,” Loki replied simply.

"No. You will be seen sitting at my table," Odin said, his voice conveying that there was to be no debate.

Loki clearly was not having any of it. “I have no desire to-”

“I don’t care what your desires are. You are to join the rest of your family lest you want to start a scene and embarrass your mother.”

Loki’s expression hardened. “Do not speak a word to her,” Loki warned before making his way over to the table, not paying any attention to who he was shoving aside in the crowd to get there. You thought it strange how Loki didn’t protest more. It seemed out of character for him to just do what Odin ordered. You figured that he would try a little bit harder to-

“You have not yet been welcomed into my company nor that of my family’s,” Odin murmured into your ear, grabbing your attention. “Do not get too comfortable here,” he finished before pushing you into the crowd of drinking warriors.

“Jackass,” you muttered as stumbled. You started to search for an empty seat, quickly realizing that it was going to be a long night.

~

As Loki got approached the table, he rammed directly into a blonde figure, causing her to trip back and fall to the floor with a grunt. "Please do be careful where you're-" Sigyn stopped short and her eyes widened when she saw that it had been Loki she bumped into. "Loki!" she exclaimed, surprised. "I didn't realize it was you. I apologize for my tone."

"No need. It's my apology. I am a bit disgruntled from my recent encounter. Please, allow me-" Loki offered her a hand, his magic flicking up along her to straighten her garments as she stood. "There you are."

"And here you are," she said breathlessly, slightly dazed. After a short moment, she seemed to snap out of it. "It's been quite a while, Loki. Years since I last saw you. You look very...good," she complimented, eyeing him up. "I was just heading to the head table as well if you wish to join me?" 

Loki glanced down at her with evaluating eyes, taking a moment as he tried to identify her. He suddenly blinked a few times. "Sigyn? My apologies again. I will admit that I did not recognize it was you," he chuckled. "I was headed that way myself. It seems that Odin suddenly cares that I should appear at his table with the others. Please do not take offense, but I have to admit, I did not expect for you to be invited."

"None taken. I was just as surprised when I received that invitation. Coming here alone as been a bit more intimidating than I had thought. Care to escort me?" she asked, holding out her arm expectantly. 

"Most certainly." Loki took her arm, walking with her the rest of the way to the table. "I take that to mean you're still hunting for someone to claim you? I thought you would've enchanted some poor soul by now with your beauty and good graces."

"Admittedly, I have learned through my travels that I am rather attached to a childhood friend to which no other could compare to," she admitted to him with a light shrug.  

"As long as you've been training in other realms, I would have expected such strings to have unraveled over time."

"You would be surprised the influence you can leave on others, Loki," Sigyn replied quietly, giving his forearm a gentle squeeze. 

" _My_ influence? I am certain I can't imagine." He let go of her arm once they reached the table, pulling out a chair for her before sitting on his own. Freyja was already sitting at the end, flirting with Baldr mercilessly. Odin sat in the middle, two ravens perched on either side of him on the back of his chair. Beside him sat Frigga, and next to her were Thor and Sif, who was slowly beginning to warm up to him now that she had a few drinks of her own in her system. The rest of Odin’s sons sat at either end, preoccupied with stuffing their faces with food rather than having conversations.

“You have always been special,” Sigyn told him as she took her seat.

~

"I then a took down the full sized ice giant bastard with just me blade and shield," the warrior beside you slurred at you. He placed his elbow on the table, giving you a sloppy grin.

"Such horseshit," another across the table yelled at him. "When we came across a baby troll that one time you scurried away with yer arms flailing, screeching louder than me daughter would have!" he continued, earning himself a roar of laughter from those in the area.

The man's already flushed cheeks darkened. "Yeah, well, little bugger was weird looking," he mumbled, suddenly busying himself with his drink.

You couldn't help but chuckle yourself. You focused your attentions back on finishing the second plate-full of food you had been given.

"Quite the appetite for someone your size," you heard a playful voice say from across you. "I'm surprised it all fits in there." 

You glanced up, your eyes meeting with another's warm, brown ones. He was a surprisingly handsome man. He was well built, but not overbearing. He had dark hair that fell past his shoulders that clearly had not been washed in a long time. Some strands were braided while others were pulled back. His beard was full but well kept. He smiled at you, revealing surprisingly nice teeth for someone who clearly needed to bathe. He studied you carefully as he took a sip of his beer. You tried your hardest to ignore him, focusing on the plate in front of you, but you could practically feel his gaze on you.

“Can I help you?” you eventually asked, looking up and seeing him smirk.

“You are not a shieldmaiden,” the man observed aloud. “Not a Valkyrie, nor a noblewoman or a goddess. You do not hold features of a Vanir or an æsir. Who are you?”

“I guess a nobody,” you replied vaguely, clearing your throat and downing the rest of your own beer. The man’s smirk grew and he poured you another mug when you set it down.

“Where do you come from?”

Before you could answer, the man beside you draped his arms around you, leaning almost his entire weight onto you. You immediately caught of whiff his ale breath and wrinkled your nose. You tried to lean away from him though it just caused you to press up against the warrior on the other side of you. You could hear the handsome man across from you chuckle as the drunk gave you a wide smile.

“This woman ‘ere is a mortal! Can’t you see?!” the drunk exclaimed happily, tightening his grip on you. You continued to give him a look of distaste though it didn’t register with the man. “I’ve seen ‘er ‘angin around Freyja. Ohhh, beautiful, beautiful Freyja. I would give the world for that woman. If only she would give me a chance…”

“You would pass out the moment she would let you hold onto a titty,” the same man from before snorted from down the table, earning a few more chuckles from those around you.

“You’re quite pretty for a mortal,” the drunk murmured in your ear, ignoring the other’s comment. His hot breath unpleasantly hit the side of your neck. You felt one of his hands slowly creeping up your thigh.

“Please stop,” you warned him, tightening your grip on your fork.

“I bet you would be a good fuck,” he continued regardless, his fingers continuing to inch up your inner thigh.

Without thinking, you took your fork and slammed it into the back of his hand, causing him to immediately jerk it away from you and howl out in pain. “Fuck off,” you grumbled, shrugging him off of you.

He whimpered in pain as he pulled out the fork and cradled his bloody hand against his chest.

Everyone in the immediate area around you stopped talking and looked over. Your eyes flickered around to see everyone’s eyes on you. You were about to say something before everyone erupted in a roar of laughter, including the man across from you.

“Better luck next time, friend,” he said, giving him a sympathetic look.

You snorted, busying yourself with finishing another drink.

~

Loki had spotted you from across the feast hall, his eyes unwavering. However, you did not notice his gaze as your attention was preoccupied with trying to dismiss the warriors' attentions. The muscles in his taut jaw would occasionally twitch every time one of their hands would come into contact with you. 

"You've barely touched your food," Sigyn commented, looking down at his plate. "You're supposed to _eat_ at a feast, you know.”

Loki glanced down at the plate in front of him, releasing the tension in his jaw. He sighed. "I suppose I've lost my appetite."

Sigyn frowned. "Well, that's no good. You need to keep your energy up for the rest of the night! You don't want to retire early."

"I think I might at this rate," Loki mumbled, waving at a servant with his empty chalice for a refill.

"I won't have any of that," Sigyn said determinedly. "We'll just have to get you something better to eat." 

She leaned forward towards the servant as he refilled Loki's drink, asking for a new order of food that contained all of Loki's favorites.

A small smile formed on Loki's lips. "You still remember, after all these years? Or did you get a consult from my personal chef?"

"I still remember..." Sigyn replied quietly. "You'd be surprised with the amount I remember," she chuckled softly. "I wasn’t lying when I say you left quite the impact on me."

"We did spend a lot of time together. Studies...pranks..." Loki sipped his wine, closing his eyes. "Remember the time we managed to turn Odin's hair blue without him catching us?"

Sigyn laughed, and Frigga turned her head towards them at the sound. "I also remember you framing me for being the one to steal Freyja's necklace," she grinned. 

"Yes, and you got your revenge by turning all my garments purple," Loki snorted, pointing his chalice at her.

Sigyn gave him an innocent smile. "You still have yet to provide proof that that was me," she replied, taking a drink.

"Hmm, I wonder..." Loki slowly began to run his hand up along her dark purple stockings, "...why I would possibly..." his fingertips trailed up the side of her amethyst-colored dress, "...think it was you?" He traced up along her side, brushing up against the side of her breasts.

Sigyn snorted in her drink, some of the wine going into her nose as she laughed. "Okay, okay, so that _may_ have been me."

"Our third fellow student always harassed the fact that both of us had entire wardrobes of a single color," the prince said with a smirk, raising his drink. "You should see some of the ones I've done in more recent times."

"Oh?" Sigyn asked with raised brows. "And what kind of trouble have you been getting into exactly, God of Mischief?"

"Been up against someone from another realm with the same domain," Loki chuckled. "It got to the point that we were forced into a truce by Thor, under the threat of kicking us both out of Asgard temporarily." As soon as he finished his drink, Sigyn waved down the servant again for another refill, this time requesting for him to just leave the bottle. Loki glanced curiously at her. He was about to say something before quickly changing his mind. "I suppose your own mischief has calmed down a bit ever since you left?"

"Oh, not at all," Sigyn replied. "I still like to take some time to have a little fun once in awhile." She looked over at him. "I'm still a worthy opponent, you know."

Loki chuckled, taking a long swig and leaning back in his chair. "Well, feel free to change my wardrobe color again."

"Oh, I have no plans on that. I actually have some ideas that have been brewing in my head for quite some time that are far worse," she said with a smirk, filling up his chalice again as soon as he finished.

"Like getting me drunk and seducing me?" Loki joked as he watched her refill.

Sigyn's cheeks turned pink and she quickly put down the bottle.

Loki barked back a laugh. "Dove, I was teasing!" he said, reaching over and stroking one of her cheeks with his thumb. "Though you might consider switching from purple to pink, the color really suits you."

Her cheeks flushed with more color. "Not really helping," she mumbled, hiding her face behind her goblet.

Loki chuckled, taking a drink off his wine again. "Poor darling, have I gone and flustered you now?" he teased with a cocky grin.

Sigyn narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't act like it wasn't intentional, Odinson. You very well know the effect you have on me."

Loki leaned in close to her so they're nose to nose, smirking at her. "Are you complaining, Sigs?"

She swallowed hard before smirking herself at him. "Not really, no."

His lips briefly brushed against hers before leaning back into his seat again, popping a chocolate covered cherry in his mouth. "I didn't think so," he replied with an amused expression.

Sigyn took a shaky breath before downing the rest of her drink. "You're very confusing, Loki, you know that?"

"Am I?" Loki asked, giving her a lazy smile. "I'm terribly sorry. Please, do tell me how I could help clear your confusion." His attention seemed to suddenly waver again, his eye catching onto something from across the room.

Sigyn watched him for a short moment, contemplating on what to say next. "Tell me, was it really you that wrote the letter?"

This grabbed Loki's attention back. He immediately looked over at her. "Letter?"

~

You happened to glance over right as Loki leaned in towards Sigyn. You watched as he brushed his lips against hers, murmuring something that causes her to blush. You immediately averted your gaze, trying to look anywhere but there. You first glanced towards another man who waggled his bushy eyebrows at you. _Nope, nope, not him_ , you thought, quickly trying your hardest to look somewhere else instead. 

~

Sigyn's brows slightly furrowed. "Yes, the letter about you reconnecting with me."

Loki's eyes quickly flickered over in Odin's direction. He cleared his throat. "You'll have to pardon me, but I do not know of such a letter."

Sigyn's face fell slightly. "I suspected as much."

"When did you receive it?”

"A few days ago," she answered. "It had stated that you were interested in resuming our friendship in hopes of..." Her voice slowly falters off as Loki began to watch her intently. She looked down at her own plate. "It contained an offer that would restore my family's position from local nobility to members of the royal court if an arrangement is made between...between you and me."

"And that offer is still very much out there," Odin suddenly interjected. Both Sigyn and Loki looked over at him, while sadness draped over Frigga's features.

The tension in Loki's jaw returned. "Why am I not surprised that you were involved in this?"

"Because I apparently need to take things into my own hands after what had happened with Lady Gullveig," Odin answered coldly. One of the black ravens perched on the back of his chair suddenly let out a deep kraa.

Loki snorted. "Hardly a lady," he mumbled under his breath, bringing his attention forward.

"You ruined an opportunity I went out of my way to give you, something I did not have to do."

"A thing I never asked you to do," Loki snapped back. 

"And you wasted it on a feeble mortal," Odin continued, ignoring Loki's comment. "I am not a fool. I know you have been keeping her hidden in your quarters."

"Loki? Who is he talking about?" Sigyn asked quietly. 

Loki didn't answer her. "And I don't see how that is any of your concern," he instead said to Odin. 

"Well, if you plan on continuing any kind of intimate interactions with her, it will be futile as I will not condone any of it," Odin began to explain. "I do not trust your judgment in mates."

Loki snorted once before it quickly turned into laughter. "Ah, I see now. You're terrified of what might happen if I marry someone of my choice. You're worried about what I might produce as a result, especially after what happened with Angrboda. That is why you have always fought against me courting since my return. But you have realized I might do it regardless, haven't you? That is why you seek so much control over my love life-"

"Nonsense," Odin interrupted. "All of it. You are incapable of love. It is in your very nature. This ruse of yours, with the mortal, is your most unconvincing deception to date. Do you really expect me to believe that you are infatuated with a type of creature I know you despise? A fragile mortal who has never and will never earn a place in Valhalla-"

"Enough!" Loki snarled. "I do not seek your validation. Who I spend my time with is none of your concern. Though I wouldn't think you should be the one to judge about having a mortal love, Odin, if the rumors are true. I think mother would be quite interested in hearing-"

"Rumors are nonsense," Odin quickly dismissed, impervious to his tone. He watched over his feast hall with surveying eyes, his expression hardening. "They’re made up by those you have nothing better to do with their time. And it is my concern when it will affect my people. You are not using your potential. You are not properly taking advantage of the position I have bestowed onto you. You are forcing me to make arrangements for you; arrangements you keep thoroughly destroying. You will not ruin this one."

"Loki...who is this mortal he keeps mentioning?" Sigyn asked again calmly. Again, Loki kept silent.

"A thief and a liar he claims to have fallen in love with," Odin answered for him. Loki's grip on his chalice tightened, though he does not correct him. Odin turned his head to look over at Sigyn. "I know you used to have a friendly and close relationship with Loki, which is why I am making this offer to you. Thor had suggested to me that we should invite you back to Asgard as one of our diplomats. You would prove to be quite useful with your language skills and experience with the other realms' cultures from your travels."

Sigyn looks back at him warily. "What does this have to do with Loki?"

"I saw no harm in you two rekindling while you were here," Odin answered. Loki kept his face forward, trying to keep his expression smooth. “If you two were to marry, you would at least be able to carry a normal heir of his if he is still determined to have them. No doubt a mortal would never be able to carry a son of yours, Loki. If she didn't die from carrying a jotun in her weak belly, then surely childbirth would claim her."

"I'm surprised that you're concerned about me continuing on my line, Odin," Loki responded. "Considering what you have done to my other thr-"

"You bred monstrosities," Odin interrupted. "I did to them what I felt was right.”

"Odin, darling, not here, not at Thor's wedding," Frigga said calmly, finally interjecting. She placed a hand on his arm that was gripping his own chalice tightly as well. She then lowered her voice though Loki could still hear her. "After what has happened with Angrboda and Gullveig, let the boy have some happiness and freedom to choose someone. Trying to sabotage him will not lead to anything productive."

"I am not sabotaging him, woman," Odin replied, lifting his arm to take a long swig, effectively shaking off her touch. "I am helping him despite what you two may think. I am ensuring his future as a diplomat, as someone respected around here. I am helping him make something of his life, something I do not need to do."

Loki snorted. "Ah, I see. Thank you for being so kind and thoughtful of me. I _truly_ appreciate the gesture."

"A mortal will not give you anything in life, except criticism and mockery," Odin added.

"I can see that," Loki replied with a dry laugh. 

~

As the night carried on, you lost hope that you would meet up with Loki again. The warriors bored you with their battle stories, and once they realized your disinterest, they left you alone, really leaving you with no one to talk to. Even the handsome one couldn’t keep your attention for very long. Eventually, you decided to just retire for the night, not even excusing yourself as you stood from the table and began to make your way to the doors.

~

Loki sat in silence, staring at your empty seat as the rest of his food went untouched once again. Odin had finally decided to leave him alone, carrying conversations with the rest of his sons instead.

Sigyn sat awkwardly, fidgeting as she tried to think of something to get Loki out of his mood. "How about a walk?" she finally offered, looking at him with a concerned expression.

"I would really appreciate that," Loki accepted, surprising Sigyn that he actually wanted to. Without saying another word, he led her out of the feast hall.

…

"And, and remember Thor's expression as soon as he realized it was you?" Sigyn laughed hysterically. She kept having to wipe away tears that spilled over onto her cheeks as she tried her best to contain her giggling. Loki had taken her out to his mother’s garden, walking her through one of the main paths. Though night had already well fallen over Asgard, the flora that seemed to cover every inch of the garden were still on fully visible, glowing under lanterns that lined the paths.

Loki couldn't help but laugh with her. "How could I ever forget? It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, besides you of course."

Sigyn gives him a dubious expression before grinning at him. "That was undoubtedly one of your _worst_ lines to date. It seems your silver tongue needs some polishing."

Loki snorted, though continued to smile. "Apparently so. I wonder how long it ago it started to rust."

"Obviously when I left," Sigyn answered simply. She looked up at the night sky before closing her eyes and inhaling the crisp air. Loki looked over at her, taking in her features.

"Gods, I've missed you, Sigyn," he murmured.

Sigyn's eyes snapped open, though doesn’t look at him. She cleared her throat before continuing forward on the path. “Have you ever romanticized your own wedding?” she asked, changing the topic.

“Never. I’ve never been interested in pushing that kind of commitment," Loki said, following after her. “It’s plenty enough trying to even figure out what ‘love’ even is. Marriage has always seemed unnecessary and I've never been one for tradition.”

"That's always been clear," Sigyn chuckled. "I've always liked them. Through my travels, I've learned a lot of new ones. You discover that though they may vary, they all carry similar significances."

"For instance?" Loki asked, continuing to walk beside her.

She thought it over for a moment before speaking. "Well, seeing as we’re on the topic, proposal and marriage customs, for instance. Dwarven customs have them exchanging armaments. The vanir gift jewelry, typically rings. The æsir traditions-"

"Have faded away over the years," Loki interrupted. "It’s become commonplace for most marriages to be arranged, so there is no need for it anymore."

"Well, I would certainly appreciate the gesture, even if it was arranged," Sigyn responded. 

"Would you now?" Loki asked lazily.

"Of course. I see it as romantic. He would be reaching out to me in an attempt to-”

“Sigyn, I want to ask you a question,” he abruptly interrupted. “You overheard everything back at the feast. I know…” He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before carrying on. “I know you don’t know the whole story, but certainly you have gleaned that there has been another woman in my life. I suppose...what I’m wondering is what would you do if you were in such a position?”

“I still do not know what exactly that position is, Loki,” Sigyn replied. “However, if you are suggesting what I think, you know what my own interests are, Loki. They haven’t changed much over the years, but my priorities have, hence why I decided to accept the invitation to come back here.” She stopped walking, glancing up at him. “What are yours? Do you want to start over in a new relationship or do you wish to continue to do whatever it is that you have with…her?”

"Admittedly, I am torn," Loki confessed quietly. "You heard Odin. What kind of life could I live with her? I would only bring her pain. And what if she wanted a family of her own? Odin would refuse to help overcome any difficulties that might arise...would likely cut us off from any possible aid."

Sigyn reached over to place a hand over his, uncertain of what to say that would comfort him rather than hurt him.

"I just don't know what to do, Sigyn. I have been feeling conflicted all night. I would never have expected…that seeing you again…would bring back so many…suppressed feelings,” he admitted, struggling to find his words.

"I know," Sigyn replied in a whisper. She watched Loki's expression carefully before slowly leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on his lips, her free hand going to the side of his neck.

Loki paused, his hand trembling under hers as he pressed in and returned the wine scented kiss. His other hand went to rest on the small of her back, pulling her closer again him. He leaned his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes at the end of the kiss. "Sigyn..."

There's a sudden rustling in the bushes and they both break away to look over in that direction.

"You idiot!" a voice that sounded like Freyja’s whisper-scolded. "You gave us away!" Her figure suddenly appeared as she unexpectedly came out of one of the bushes, hurriedly smoothing out her dress and removing leaves from her hair. Baldr scurried out after her.

"I did your weird spying, now let me have you. You promised me that I would get a taste,” Baldr whined.

"You won't if you don't shut up this instant," Freyja grumbled at him, tugging his arm and pulling him away. She made sure to avoid looking over at Loki and Sigyn, refusing to give any kind of explanation.

Sigyn blinked after them, shaking her head slightly. She turned back to Loki. “So, mind telling me what this whole story with Gullveig is?”

Loki looked down at her for a short moment before taking her hand and continuing down the path, beginning the story.

~ 

You awoke to the sound of someone furiously knocking on your door the next morning. You crinkled your brows in agitation, pulling your covers closer to you. You groaned when the knocking wouldn't falter. You eventually managed to pull yourself away from the bed, shuffling open to answer the door.

"Finally," Freyja said, exasperated. "I need to talk to you."

"Is it something life-threatening?" you asked, looking at her through tired eyes.

She paused. "No."

"Then you can tell me later," you replied, reaching to close the door.

Freyja threw an arm out to block your hand. "Trust me. I’m pretty certain you're going to want to hear this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOQtB0xTiek
> 
> Realizing now that this was a _horrible_ Valentine's chapter...


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has reached over 500 kudos, which is absolutely insane! Thank you to everyone who has liked this story and have continued with it despite there being some long absences.

You stared at Freyja for a moment before sighing quietly and stepping aside, opening the door further for her.

"Thank you," she said pleasantly, flashing you a white smile before strutting past you and sitting down in one of your room’s chairs. A small scowl briefly flashed on her face, which quickly turned into one of concentration. She started to bounce on the chair’s cushion before wiggling her butt into it. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

"I am…insulted. Why is your chair comfier than the one in my room?" she asked, looking up at you and seeming genuinely upset about it.

You walked over to her with your arms crossed. "Weren't you just saying you had something urgent to tell me?"

"Ah, yes. That," Freyja said with a nod. "Well, last night I decided to go out for some fresh air, recharge after the wedding so I could be at my best when I entertained Baldr, who might I add, was  _not_  as good of a lay as I was suspecting. You would think for someone so handsome he would have some experience and would know how to-" 

"Freyja, just get to the point," you interrupted, growing impatient.

"I might have seen Loki kiss Sigyn. But don't worry! It wasn't anything passionate or hot or anything. It was...uncertain."

"Thank you for that analysis," you replied with a small snort, sitting down and closing your eyes. "Was that all it was?"

"You're not upset?" she asked back warily.

"No," you admitted, opening your eyes. "Unless there is a reason I need to be that you're not telling me."

"What do you mean?"

"Is that all they did?" you inquired. 

Freyja tapped her fingertips together. "Well..."

"That's all they did, right, Freyja?" you repeated, this time sterner.

"That's the thing. I'm not entirely sure," she said with an apprehensive look.

You couldn't help but snort again. "I thought you knew everything?"

Freyja sighed heavily. "Listen, when we younger Loki had some...strong feelings towards her. They had become close friends when studying under Frigga, but that's all she ever saw him as, a friend. When she had rejected him before leaving to study in Vanaheim, it left him feeling very bitter." She looked down at her hands resting on her lap. "He never did quite get over her. Loki likes to keep things buried deeply, and he refused to talk to me about it. He wouldn’t even speak to Frigga. So, last night, seeing her again...it brought back some long suppressed feelings...and they came back hard."

"And you sensed this?" you asked quietly.

She nodded. "It was quite hard to ignore. I'm quite in tune with his emotions regarding that area." She looked back up at you. "You need to know he is feeling very conflicted right now. If he seems guarded or cold to you, I guarantee he’s not doing it on purpose."

At this you paused. You looked away from Freyja and instead focused your gaze on the window. "Is he in love with her?

"He loves her," Freyja replied, choosing her words carefully.  
   
You watched as the yellow from the rising sun spilled through the window. "Does he want to be with her?"

"He enjoys her company, yes."

"And he spent the night with her?"

"I believe so."

You swallowed. "Does he want to marry her?"

"I don't know. It's possible."

Your eyes flickered back towards Freyja and you noticed she held an expression of genuine concern. You had never seen her look that way towards you before. "Will you be willing to find out for me?"

To your surprise, she nodded. "Of course."

You shook your head in slight disbelief. "Are you really so willing to do this for me? Why have you come here at all? Why do you care?"

Freyja shifted in her seat before answering. "Because Loki is my best friend and I care deeply about him, despite all the times he can cause serious trouble around here and get under my skin." She suddenly leaned towards you and you couldn't help but stare at the breasts that threatened to spill out of her dress. "And you're becoming my friend as well. I help my friends."

Your eyes immediately snapped up. "Are you serious? You're pulling my leg, right?"

Freyja sat back up with a small scoff. "I am not Loki. I don't lie." She started to stand with a big, overdramatic sigh. "Besides, I can't have Sigyn muddling up all my hard work."

You were about to reply when another knock on the door pulled your attention away. The door opened a crack where you saw tired eyes peeking in.

"Can I help you?" you asked, standing as well.

"Ah, excuse me," the person said, opening the door further and revealing himself to be a guard. "I had heard talking and assumed it would be safe to open the door or else I wouldn't have done it."

"It's fine," you said dismissively. "What do you need?"

"King Odin would like to speak with you," he explained, his eyes widening the moment he noticed Freyja standing behind you. 

You scratched the back of your neck. "Right now?"

"Yes, unless you’d prefer to ignore the request and then be in an even worse spot," the guard answered while continuing to stare at Freyja.

"I guess I’ll change now," you said reluctantly as you headed into the washroom.

~

"I want to make this as brief as possible," Odin said to you as soon as you walked in. You held back a sigh as you approached, trying to keep your demeanor as neutral. A guard stood on either side of you as they escorted you; their hands gripped tightly on the top of your arms with their metaled fingers digging into your skin.

"I agree," you replied as the guards forced you to stop at the bottom of the steps that led up to his throne. His one visible eye bore down at you and you shifted your weight uncomfortably. 

"Good," he said sternly. "I called you here because I am severing the agreement I had made with you. Your services under Thor are no longer necessary, and I am dismissing you from the palace."

Your stomach dropped at hearing this. You swallowed hard before replying. "May I inquire why?"

"You have become too comfortable here," he answered. "I and others feel that you have not been fulfilling your duties that we agreed upon. You instead have been spending most days of late lounging around with Loki-"

"I assure you that I have been doing much more than that," you interrupted before quickly snapping your mouth shut. "My apologies," you mumbled, averting your gaze.

Odin narrowed his eye at you before continuing. "You are to leave before the others rise. You are to go quickly and quietly."

"You're not putting me back into the dungeons?" you asked warily.

"You are not an inherent danger around here. You cannot do any harm to those who matter around here.” He paused briefly before continuing, his tone a bit softer. "I am looking out for my son. He does not know what is best for him; he cannot look into the future to see the consequences of his actions. His future does not lie with a mortal."

"He loves me," you said defiantly, raising your head back up.

Odin scoffed. "The boy does not understand what love is. He is infatuated with a creature he knows I do not approve of. He is doing this to get me upset, not because he cares for your feelings." Odin suddenly started to laugh, the sound causing you to jump. "Did you think that you were to be his bride eventually, child? Do you truly believe he would bind himself to you in such a way?"

You refused to reply, though the heat that traveled up your neck and colored your skin gave away your answer.

He shifted in his seat with a dramatic sigh. "Well then I suppose I must be the one to break the news to you,” he said solemnly, hamming up a performance of faux sympathy. “He already has a bride ready for him, an æsir, a woman who will be good for him. I suppose I should have listened to Frigga long ago. Sigyn is a much better fit for him that Gullveig ever would have been. Ah, well, we're on the correct path now, so I suppose that's what matters."

"Why are you telling me this?" you asked, trying to keep your voice calm though inside you felt as though your heart had dropped through your stomach. "You're lying," you then accused. "He would have told me this. He wouldn't have-"

"Do you think you know what discussions are held around here, mortal? Do you think you have an influence on my decisions or even Loki's? It's been done. It's set up." He leaned forward. "Do you not know what he is, mortal? He is a liar; he is a manipulator. What he has done to you, it has all been done for his own personal g-"

"ODIN!" you heard Loki's voice yell from behind you. You turned to look over your shoulder, but the guards jerked you to face back forward. You distinctly heard his boots clacking against the floor as he stormed towards the throne. You could feel the anger radiating off of him as he approached.

"Good morrow," Odin said lazily, staring down at you.

"Let go of her," he snarled at the guards when he reached you, pulling out his dagger while his hands started to glow a dark green. The guards glanced up at Odin, looking for confirmation on how to proceed.

Odin scoffed. "Put your weapon away, Loki. There is no need for it." He waved a hand at the guards and they released their grip from you. You shook out our arms and rolled out your shoulders, realizing that they had dug deep enough into your skin that bruises would soon be forming.

"Why have you called her here?" Loki asked indignantly, stepping in front of you and blocking you from Odin's view. 

Odin sighed, burrowing his forehead into his hand. "Loki, I do not have time for this. This does not concern-"

"If you are trying to remove her from here, it absolutely is my concern," Loki spoke up, his tone terse.

"I no longer require her services, and I do not want to unnecessarily fill up a cell that could be used for someone more dangerous," Odin sighed. "I have made my decision, Loki."

"Then what can she do that will allow her to stay here?" Loki asked. Though his question took you by surprise, you made sure to keep your expression smooth.

Odin raised his white brows, clearly surprised as well. "Truly you aren’t serious?"

"Give her work. If not, I can find her work. I can train her. I can-"

"Enough," Odin interrupted irritably, raising a hand. He closed his eye as his hand returned to his forehead. You stood in silence for a long moment, unsure of whether or not you should say anything. You were about to step around Loki to speak up, but he held out an arm. You looked up at him and saw him subtly shaking his head no. You bit your tongue and stepped back behind him, resorting to staring at one of the pillars instead.

"Alright, if you insist on her staying for work, then work I shall give her,” Odin finally spoke.

"And the catch?" Loki immediately asked.

"It will be work fitting for a mortal, naturally. I will have her care for my ravens," he decided.

"Absolutely not," Loki retorted. “She will not do such degrading work.”

"It needs to be done, and that is my only offer," he replied with a shrug. "Perhaps in time she can be promoted to the ranks of stable groom if she does a well enough job."

"So I am to become a slave?" you spoke up, stepping aside. You refused to hide behind Loki any longer. Though you appreciated him coming to your defense, you felt more than capable of speaking for yourself. You felt weak hiding behind him like a coward as he spoke for you.

You heard Loki audibly sigh. "Don't. I have this..." he murmured under his breath.

“I will negotiate my own fate, Loki,” you replied sharply to which Odin smirked at.

"See how he does not want you to speak, mortal?" he added, causing Loki to roll his eyes. He continued. "Though there will be no negotiation as I am done with this conversation. You have heard my proposal. You are either to leave immediately, or you will take up work attending to my ravens. If you are not in the aviary by this afternoon, I will take that as your decision. Now leave," he said finally, gesturing for the guards to return to your sides.

"Loki, don't fight them," you said, shaking your head as you noticed his hand doing towards his dagger. "I'll leave."

"I would listen to the mortal," Odin said with slight amusement. "She at least understands consequences, even if it is to a small extent."

You ignored his comment, instead deciding to leave the throne room rather than trying to argue with him any longer. You were tired of being scrutinized by Odin, and you were especially tired having to constantly fight back against him. Though you hated to admit it, his words were making you question if it all was even worth it. If Loki didn't choose you in the end, if Odin had been telling the truth and Sigyn was already chosen to be his bride, what more could you do? How much energy could you put into a potentially wasted cause? You knew you would never be truly welcomed into the palace. You knew you had no place here and that you didn't belong. You felt stupid for thinking you had a chance, for thinking it would be easy to be with someone like Loki.

"You don't have to make a decision," Loki said to you when you were both finally out of the throne room. "You don't have to abide by his conditions. I will speak with him again. I can have you assigned to something better, like escorting or traveling or-"

"Loki, just stop," you interrupted with a shake of your head. He immediately closed his mouth and looked at you with confusion. "I know about...Freyja told me what happened last night," you told him with a small sigh.

"What did she tell you?" he finally spoke after a moment of silence, his voice quiet yet rough.

"I know of your history with her," you said. "That you love her, that you've always wanted to be with her... ...is she wrong?" you asked when he showed no signs of replying again.

He simply shook his head. "No."

"Do you love me?"

"I do."

"And you love her."

He paused again before answering. "I do..."

Your jaw became tense as you quickly buried the emotions that attempted to surface, trying to distract you from the conversation. _Keep calm_ , you told yourself.

"Odin wants you to marry her," you stated blankly.

"He does."

"And do you want to marry her?"

Loki averted his gaze. "Sigyn...would certainly make a good wife for me, especially in the eyes of the æsir. It would decrease the tensions that have been growing as of late."

"Don't you have a choice?" you asked, shaking your head as you tried to understand.

"Yes...and no." He returned his emerald eyes back to you. "If it were to become officially arranged, I’m afraid I won't have much of a choice in the matter."

"And when have you ever been one to follow commands?” you pointed out, crossing your arms. “I thought Odin would know better than trying to control you." 

"That is true, which is why Odin has yet to officially declare it," Loki replied easily. 

You decided to change the topic. "If I decided to leave would you be upset?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

"Then give me answer as to why I shouldn’t. Why must I stay here if there is a great chance that you might choose her over me? Why must I go through that heartbreak later when I could start healing now?" you asked to which you received no response.

You nodded, taking his silence as an answer. You took a step back, starting to leave. "You know this ambiguity is incredibly frustrating, right? I hope you figure out this inner conflict soon, Loki." You let out a humorless laugh. "You know, I would have thought this to be an easy answer for you, but the fact that you became torn speaks volumes."

"I know," Loki whispered, his facade starting to crack and revealing a pained expression. 

"I love you, Loki, and I’m aware that you already know everything that I would say to try and change your mind," you replied. "You know how I would fight and give you reasons as to why she isn’t the one for you. But, you’ve already made your decision, haven’t you? You know that whatever I say would be wasted breath. And _I_ know…I know deep down you're afraid of telling me your decision, for whatever reason that may be. Am I wrong?"

Again, Loki stayed silent yet it still answered your question.

"I hope you find the strength to tell me, Loki, I truly do. I would also really appreciate if you could do so soon. In the meantime, I have a few things that I need to pack," you said softly before turning without another word. You made your way back to your room without Loki trying to stop you. 

_I hope you discover something soon, Freyja,_ you thought desperately as your footsteps echoed in the halls. 

~

"I hate black," Freyja mumbled to herself as she flicked the hood of her charcoal-colored cloak over her head. She patted the side of her steed, murmuring a goodbye before setting out into the main streets of Asgard where she knew that a certain raven-haired prince had escaped to. As soon as she had caught word that Loki had urgently left the palace grounds after a conflict with Odin, she immediately followed suit, making certain that he stayed within her sight as soon as she found him. 

Freyja swiftly maneuvered herself between the packed crowds, managing to not bump into a single person. She kept her eyes locked on Loki a few feet ahead of her, maintaining a safe distance as she stalked him. She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose at the smell of smoke and raw meat that surrounded her, added the to the stench of people who had not bathed nor groomed themselves in weeks. Freyja hated having to walk these streets undetected. Normally the people of Asgard would immediately move to the sides when they saw her, giving her plenty of space for her and her guardsmen to walk by while they would shower her with praises and offerings. She itched for that attention and became tempted to push back her hood.

_Now where could you possibly be going, Loki, hm?_  she thought to herself as he suddenly turned a corner.

She watched him intently as he stopped at a blacksmith, sparking her curiosity even more as he started up a conversation that was just out of her range of hearing. The blacksmith immediately halted what he was doing when he realized who was speaking to him and set down his hammer atop his anvil. He quickly wiped his hands on the front of his apron before bowing and extending out a hand. Freyja watched the exchange out of the corner of her eye as she casually strolled over to a nearby booth, pretending to be interested in the merchant's loot.

"Lady Freyja? Is that you?" the merchant gasped excitedly, dropping the gold Asgardian coin he had been polishing. 

She smirked at him and placed a finger in front of her lips. "I need you to be quiet now," she whispered. "I'm doing something imperative at the moment.” She paused. “And if you help me keep a low profile I will extend my blessings towards you and your wife's endeavors."

The merchant blinked at her as his dirt-smeared face turned a rosy color. "O-of course, Lady Freyja," he agreed, bowing graciously. "Y-you know about Astrid and me try-"

"Trying for a baby? Of course I do," Freyja finished for him with a sweet smile. Her attention flickered back over to Loki who continued to talk to the blacksmith with a serious expression. He then pulled out his dagger and handed it over, causing the smith to look down in shock before furiously nodding his head and accepting the blade. She turned back to the merchant. "I will even have my brother extend his own blessings as well, if you’d like. Now, can you show me your wares?"

"Th-thank you, Lady Freyja," the merchant stammered, bowing again. "Much appreciated. Here, here. I have had a shipment come in just this morning that I was saving. But for you, only the best!" As he rushed to retrieve a crate from a pile behind him, Freyja returned to watching Loki out of the corner of her eye while pretending to be interested in what the merchant already had on display. Loki slipped a small piece of paper out of a pocket, unfolding it to show the smith, gesturing to particular parts before doing the same to his blade. As soon as his directions were established, he walked over to the fireplace and let the paper flutter into the flames.

Loki loomed over the blacksmith the entire time he worked, protectively watching over his dagger and examining every move. Freyja noticed the smith becoming increasingly annoyed with Loki's presence the longer he stood over him, but he clearly knew better than to tell him off. Though she didn’t move from the booth, Freyja knew that she had no reason to worry about Loki noticing her. The fact that his eyes never once left his dagger was assurance enough. Her own intense curiously fueled her patience enough to wait for as long as she did.

After painfully waiting several hours, Loki finally handed the blacksmith a brown satchel that drooped from the weight coins that were inside before walking away from the shop. Freyja hurriedly left the merchant’s stall to catch up to him, her eyes immediately locking onto the small black box that the dagger had been placed in, tucked comfortable underneath his arm. She quickly caught up to him, cutting in front of him and pushing back her hood before putting her hands on her hips. "Good evening, Loki."

Loki immediately froze and the black box disappeared in a flash. He swallowed hard and nodded once. "Freyja."

"Mind telling me what you were doing?" she questioned. "That was some serious coin you just handed to him. Must have been quite the project."

"I've not an inkling of what you're talking about," he replied, keeping his expression smooth as he crossed his arms.

Freyja rolled her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be a better liar than that? Give it here," Freyja demanded, holding out her hand towards him.

Loki sighed heavily. "Freyja, please, just this once, keep your nose in your own business."

She lifted her chin higher to turn her nose up at him with a small hmph. "And here I thought you were my friend. I thought friends told each other things," she sniffled.

Loki snorted with an incredulous face, watching her dramatic performance before sighing again and pulling out the box out from his cloak reluctantly. Freyja immediately snatched it from his grasp before he could pull it away from her. She turned her back to him, carefully opened the box, and when she looked down at the dagger her eyes widened. "Loki!"

"Shut it!" Loki hushed, hurriedly covering her mouth with his hand from behind. He quickly dragged her to a nearby empty alley to get away from curious ears. "Do NOT say anything more about it," he warned before cautiously removing his hand to uncover her muffled sounds.

"How can I not, Loki?! Is this what I think it is?" she asked, spinning back around to face him.

"Freyja, I know you like to get overzealous about these kinds of things, but please,  _please_  do not make this a big thing," he pleaded. "No one can know. I do not want this getting out, not yet."

"...Can I tell your mother?"

"No, not even my mother," Loki replied with a stern stare. "Freyja, just please..." He took a deep breath. "Please...especially do not tell  _her_. She cannot know about this, not now anyways. It'll hurt her and...and I haven't been completely honest with her. I need to be the one to explain things to her and so she can't hear about this from anyone else."

"Are you certain?" Freyja asked, raising a brow as she returned him his dagger. 

"More than anything, which is why you need to keep your mouth sewn shut about this, Freyja. No running to her immediately with information like you love to do," Loki replied, giving her a warning look.

She held up her hands defensively. "As you wish. I need to travel back to Vanaheim soon to see my father and brother, anyways. I'll just leave a little bit early so I, uh, don't blabber."

"Thank you," Loki said quietly, tucking the box back into his cloak.

Freyja couldn't help but smile a little before nodding to him. "I wish you luck. You're certainly going to need it."

"I know," Loki sighed, looking towards the direction of the palace. 


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks goes to LilLokiCat, who has helped me tremendously in writing another chapter. I don't think this chapter would have come out nearly as well as it did if it weren't for her. Thank you. :)

You had returned to your abandoned house, finding it to be the same as you had left it. You weren't surprised to find that no one had tried breaking in during the months that you had been gone. You kicked off your boots and unbuckled all your belts when you reached your old bedroom, lightly tossing them over to your bed, which promptly caused a cloud of dust to rise into the air. You stared with disgust at the lumpy mattress that had just a thin, dirty sheet that covered it, finding yourself missing Loki’s grand and extravagant one. The one he invited you in almost every night; the one in which you both shared stories, and touches, and kisses, and-

 _No, no more of that_ , you scolded yourself, reaching over and pulling the sheet off the mattress to shake it out outside. 

When you returned inside you surveyed your home further, inspecting what else you could do to make it at least a bit more habitable. You had been on your hands and knees, trying to scrub out the grime that accumulated on your floors, when you heard approaching footsteps from outside. You immediately froze in place, hoping that the person would just pass by. When the steps became louder, you slowly reached towards your blades before carefully standing. You kept your eyes on the door, using your eagle vision to determine that it was only one man.

 _I can handle that_ , you thought as you tried to work the leather straps of your blades around your forearm. _It’ll be quick, silent, but where will I hide the bod-_ Your train of thought became interrupted when the figure knocked and you froze in place once again. Should you pretend that no one was here or should you confront the individual? You knew no one in this area would just come for a friendly chat. You stayed silent, hopeful that they would give up and just walk away.

The person continued to knock, showing no signs of leaving. You finally decided to speak.

“Who is it?” you called over, taking a cautious step forward.

“Do you _really_ not know who it is?” you heard Loki’s teasing voice from the other side of the door.

You let out the breath you hadn’t realized you were holding in before setting down your blades on the table and walking over towards the door. You stopped right in front of it, hugging yourself as you stared at the worn wood. 

“Why have you come here?” 

“Would you be willing to hear me out one more time?” Loki asked quietly, his tone becoming more serious. “No lies, no tricks. I...need to confess something.” 

“I suppose,” you answered after a short moment of silence as you thought it over. 

You reached forward and opened the door, stepping aside to let him in. You felt embarrassed the moment he took a step inside. Having him in such a run down place made it feel like it was a reflection of you. “You’ll have to excuse the mess,” you quickly said. “No one has been here in quite some time. I mean, it's been falling apart since I first got it, but it's never been _this_ bad. I swear this isn’t how I would prefer to live, but you must already know that. Who would _like_ to live in such conditions? If I had known you were coming I would have-” You quickly stopped talking when you realized that were just rambling on. He had turned to face you, watching you with amusement with a smirk resting on his lips. You cleared your throat. “What was it you needed to say?”

The smirk that had formed immediately disappeared and he took a deep breath, one hand slowly sneaking into his jacket. 

“I wanted to discuss a new contract of sorts between us. Not some pitiful employment or scheme. But rather-” He paused, looking you over for a moment as if uncertain of something. “Tell me, how much have you learned of Asgard’s customs in your time in the realm?”

“In what aspect?” you asked as you eyed the hand that had disappeared. “For one, I've learned that it’s rude to refuse a mug of ale when it's offered.”

“That...is quite true,” Loki replied, actually chuckling briefly. “I suppose the one I was thinking of is too old for you to have readily picked up. I’d be surprised if Thor even knew of it, or he might’ve called on it to ease things for his own situation. Ah, eheh, before I start rambling myself...here. This is for you.”

He pulled a black box from within his jacket pocket and offered it forward, opening it to reveal his dagger lying on the velvet cushion.

“It's your dagger,” you blankly observed. You looked up at him with confusion and noticed him watching you with great intensity. “Why are you giving me this? I have plenty of my own blades that I can use. You need this one.”

“I had it reworked, actually,” Loki commented before gently picking it up out of the box, which was promptly set aside onto the table. He took a step towards you, placing the cool leather of the handle against the palm of your hand. "Asgard's origins was that of a warrior nation, living by their blade and shield. They eat and drink so exuberantly because that was the way back then. It was less an act of gluttony and more one of celebration; living the fullest extent they could because it was quite likely that the next day could be their last. From those times, came two great pacts. 

“The first was a blood oath, taken between two comrades who would defend each other no matter the cost. Blood brothers, pact sisters, that sort. There still are some who use it. That one scar of mine-” He suddenly stopped, chuckling nervously. You glanced up at him, noticing that his cheeks were slowly starting to darken with color. His gaze became focused on the dagger.

“Ahem. The other was the pact of the sword, which didn’t _have_ to involve a sword. There were plenty who defaulted to an axe or polearm...or dagger. For this tradition, the warrior - or on rarer occasions, the shieldmaiden - would take their personal weapon and have it cleaned up, sharpened, and their personal crest added to it. Along with other minor touches, it was obvious whom it belonged to, for those with less famous implements than Mjolnir or the likes. It would then be presented to the one they wished to form the pact with, as a symbol of their bond. They wished to be the one who would always be at their side, defending them first over all others, facing whatever dangers were on the horizon... _together_. Dying together when that final battle consumed them. It’s been a bit lost over time, sadly, in the face of the politics and arranged marriages. The vanir still have a similar custom, though, unsurprisingly, one involving jewelry…”

You studied dagger more closely, now noticing the assassin insignia that had been engraved into the handle though there was a unique modification. A serpent was present in the middle, entangled with itself and the insignia. Your breath hitched, and you found your heart pounding faster. You held back a grin as you cleared your own throat. “Are you saying that you want to form a pact with me?”

“I want…” Loki drew a deep breath, placing either of his hands around yours and the dagger hilt. You noticed that this hands were trembling lightly. "I want to greet my mornings with the sight of you resting beside me, the sunlight glistening down across your features. I want to spend my day with the thought of you as my motivation for drudging through whatever task it is that I am so burdened with. To spend my meal time hunting you down to share conversation until one or both of us have to be off again. To sit by the fire with you on cool evenings, talking about our days, listening to your woes and joys, sharing our aspirations and accomplishments. My nights with you resting against me, snuggled securely knowing you are mine and I am yours, no matter what the next day brings. To fall asleep and dream of the things that day might hold if I use my tricks for _us_. I want... _you._ ”

You stared at him in shock, uncertain on how to respond. “Are you...is this...your decision? I thought Sigyn…”

Loki shook his head dismissively, gripping your hands more tightly. “Sigyn made her choice long ago, to leave me behind to face everything that I did alone. While I will always cherish her friendship and all that we had, it is the past. Living in the past will make my future nothing but misery. This time with you has reminded me that there is more to life than the confinements of the palace and its lifestyle, which is as cold and tarnished as the gold-plated structure containing it. If it is my downfall, so be it - Odin, fate, and all else be damned." Loki looked into your eyes, an odd expression deep within his own green pair. "But...what is your answer?"

You knew the question. You knew what you wanted to answer. But he hadn’t asked it. You wanted to hear it. You wanted to hear the words. You furrowed your brows, shaking your head slightly. “My answer to what?”

Loki stared at you for a moment before laughing. “Ah, yes, perhaps I should ask more directly-”

He lowered himself down onto one knee, his hands still wrapped around your own. 

“Will you marry me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Freyja: Only took 40 long ass chapters.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy two years to this story :)

_She blinked down at me, her expression frozen in shock. Her sudden silence was agonizing. She had been so eager to poke and prod me to get me to ask and now she won’t answer. I tried my best to ignore the hard pounding that was happening in my chest. I watched her luscious, full lips curve up into a brief smirk before it dropped back into a straight line._

_My heart picked up speed. I swore this woman was going to be the end of me. Damn her. Why must she have this control over me?! I never asked for any of this. I hate it and yet I yearn for it. I want her. Oh, please, gods, let her want me._

_“I am mortal,” she spoke, finally. A statement. One that caused my brows to furrow. “Does that not bother you?” she added. “That I am not like you, that I am weak? Simple injuries, disease, **aging** , will all take me away very quickly. You wish to commit yourself to something you can’t have forever?”_

_“Who says I won’t have you forever?” I answered, shaking my head slightly. “The time we have spent together, the time we **will** spend together,” I squeezed my hands tighter around her own, realizing that my hands were starting to become slick with sweat, “will last forever, long after we **both** have perished.” I let out a small breathy chuckle, either due to nerves or frustration, I couldn’t quite figure out. “I don’t know if you have realized this yet, but I tend do whatever I please, other gods and opinions be damned. So, I shall ask again, will you marry me?”_

_I could see each thought that flickered behind her eyes, each weighing heavily on her mind as she tried to come to an answer, though they left just as quickly as they had come. Right as I was preparing myself for another agonizing wait, she finally spoke the words that would wrap themselves tight around my heart and never leave. Words of acceptance, of a new future, one that would not be spent in solitude, but in companionship and of passion. In love._

_“Yes, I will,” she answered, biting her lower lip as she smiled. Her eyes were bright now, beaming with the infinite possibilities that alit my own._

_I grinned and immediately stood, placing my hands on either side of her waist. I pulled her into a deep kiss and breathed in her intoxicating scent, feeling her arms slip around my neck in an embrace I would never want to leave. The beautiful thief, who I before rued for stealing what was not hers, was mine. Only mine. My new home._

~

“ _Se lève!_ ” A familiar (and unwelcome) voice suddenly woke you. You ignored it, simply tightening the very warm, and very inviting sheets around yourself. You then heard an impatient sigh and the clicking of shoes against the hardwood before the sound became muted as the person stepped onto the plush bear-skin rug surrounding the bed. There was a light tug on your sheets, followed by a second that caused you to tumble out and land hard onto the floor.

You groaned and opened your eyes enough to squint at the figure in front of you, their knees inches away and cloaked in a sheer, rich gold color. Your eyes slowly traveled up until they met with blue ones squinting down back at you, face framed in loose blonde curls.

“ _Bonjour_ ,” she said pleasantly, flashing you her white teeth and making you want to knock them in even more.

“Since when do you speak French?” you asked, slowly sitting up and pushing back the hair that had fallen into your face during your tumble.

Freyja gave you a puzzled look. “French?” she repeated, trying the word out in her mouth. “Perhaps you knocked your head too hard against the ground.” She stood up in one smooth movement, walking back over to the door where Aidrith and Naelynn stood. Aidrith held a folded towel with a porcelain pitcher balanced on top, while her counterpart held a giant bundle wrapped in brown paper.

“Then what were you speaking?” you asked, staring at her blankly.

“Vanir. Now strip,” Freyja commanded, “and step into the tub.”

You blinked and looked over towards the middle of the room where you now saw a small wooden tub that had must have been brought in while you were asleep. You hesitated for just a brief moment before pulling your night shift up over your head.

“Why not use the tub in the washroom?” You stepped into the wooden one where the cold water shocked the soles of your feet. You now eyed the pitcher in Aidrith’s hands, fearing the temperature would be just as cold.

“Too many residents at present, my lady,” Aidrith explained as she walked up to you while Naelynn went to make your bed. “The hot water taps seem to have been overworked and there was a breakage somewhere. They’re trying to find it.”

“But we don’t have the time to wait for them to get it up and running again,” Freyja added, carefully undoing the brown wrapped package that now sat atop your table. “We have too much to do.”

“We do?” You gasped as the cold water was suddenly poured over head and body. “How long should it take to put on a dress?” You shivered violently as your skin rippled into gooseflesh. You parted a wet dark curtain of hair away from your face so you could see again.

Freyja shot you an exasperated look. “Surely, you can’t be serious? Pardon me for saying, but while you are a beautiful woman you must still put _effort_ into your appearance for today. And effort takes time. Take pride in your appearance, please.” She turned her back to you to pull out a gown of off-white champagne coloring from the brown package.

As Aidrith went about toweling you off, making certain not one drop of water was left behind, your thoughts drifted to Loki. You wondered what he was doing at that moment, if _he_ had managed to get the pleasure of a hot bath rather than a frigid one. Likely, the bastard. Different images of Loki getting ready flitted across your mind as you were brought over to Freyja who instructed you to lift your arms up. A strapless corset was wrapped around your middle and held in place by Naelynn’s hands as Freyja got to work strapping you in.

You let out an involuntary gasp as Freyja pulled harder on your back's lacings, forcing what little air you had left out. As you tried to refill your lungs, wondering how such slender and delicate hands could have such strength, a small quick movement caught the corner of your eye.

A spider, no bigger than your littlest finger's nail, was watching you intently with its big black eyes unblinking, its body cocked curiously to the side. Without ever seeing it move, it was suddenly an inch closer to you. Despite knowing how ridiculous it was, you couldn't help but feel self-conscious under its intense gaze, shifting slightly in your spot.

Freyja, noticing your tense body, looked over your shoulder and spotted the little fiend. She made a ticking noise in her throat and leaned over, flicking the spider out of the open window. You could have sworn you heard a tiny squeak as it launched out of the room.

After being fastened into your fabric cage that forcibly gave you more of an hourglass shape, Aidrith handed Freyja a short, thin silk skirt that fell just above your knees along with your wedding gown. With great care, she lifted both over your head and onto your body. Three pairs of hands then poked and prodded at you, lifting, adjusting, smoothing, scrunching the dress in all the right places, making sure that the gown fell exactly where it should. You were gently pushed down on a plush stool in front of the vanity, where you were vaguely aware of someone picking up each of your feet to slip on a shoe.

Freyja then quickly got to work on your hair, brushing, teasing, braiding, and curling until you were left with a pompadour on top with two tightly braided strands running back across either side of your head that came together in a knot that released into a waterfall of wavy hair down your back. As Freyja was putting in the final pins, Aidrith got to work blushing your cheeks and darkening your eyes. 

While it made it harder to breathe, the corset accentuated your figure nicely, the gown resting delicately on top, breasts peeking out on top. The skirt started at your natural waistline and fell past the floor, made of layers of fine organza and adorned with a scattering of floral lace – which upon closer inspection contained the delicate weaving and curving of ancient Norse patterning - that creeped up and donned your bodice as well. It was simple, but of the utmost elegance, and almost…tribalistic. You felt as though you were a priestess, draped in the finest fabrics that commanded attention and exuded power through its beauty. Suddenly, you had a brief understanding of Freyja’s obsession with clothing.

“ _Chef d'œuvre_ ,” Freyja murmured from behind you, admiring her hard work in the mirror. Aidrith then brought over a thick oak box, to which Freyja opened and removed a silver chain with an oval grey stone hanging from it. A carving was engraved carefully into the smooth side of the stone: a straight line with two more branching off to the right.

“ _Fehu_ ,” Freyja explained as she clasped it around your neck. “One of the runes from my family. Shall it grant you great happiness, success, and abundance in your new future; financially, socially, and that you be most fertile. I give you my blessing, Loki’s bride, assassin.” Her air was genuine and you felt a very warm comforting presence wash over you, as if you had just stepped into sunlight.

You turned and smiled at the Vanir goddess, fingers lightly stroking the cool stone that hung just above your breasts. “Thank you, Freyja. For everything you have done for me. Truly. I know I would not be standing here if it weren’t for you.”

Freyja’s face softened at this before she lifted her chin back up in her usual arrogant air. “I know.”

A quiet voice gently cleared itself throat from the door. Everyone looked over to see Frigga standing in the doorway in an elegant gown of her own. You all curtseyed at her presence - including Freyja - as her majesty floated in towards you.

“You are a most beautiful bride.” She smiled softly, eyeing you from head to toe. “A perfect fit for my son. No doubt he will be quite stunned to see you. He's been trying to imagine what you will look like.”

“You have seen him today?” you asked eagerly, your heart suddenly picking up speed in your chest. The nerves came on quickly and in full force at that moment, the floodgates instantly opening at Frigga’s mentioning of Loki.

“Oh, yes,” Frigga replied, humor glinting in her eyes. “Quite nervous himself, even if he won’t admit it aloud. I expect Thor’s constant attempts to help him get ready isn’t quite helping his temperament at the moment either.” She took another step towards you and sunlight from the open window glinted off something she held, catching your attention. “A wedding gift.” She extended an open hand to you and upon her pale palm sat a clip bent in the shape of Loki’s symbol - two entangled snakes twisting around one another – and was covered in brilliant emerald stones that glimmered under the light that touched it.

“It’s beautiful,” you whispered, blinking down at it, feeling touched.

“I’m most pleased you like it,” Frigga replied with a sweet smile, walking behind you and clipping it into your hair. “I had been saving it for when Loki decided to marry, knowing that the day would come eventually, even if I had turned grey and wrinkled by that time. His bride should be adorned with his green. I’m certain Loki will approve of it as well.”

You hummed in reply, an approval of the sentiment, as Aidrith and Naelynn brought over your sword that you had set aside earlier, handing it over to Freyja for safe keeping until it was needed later. You had given Loki back his dagger, just temporarily until the wedding ceremony, where he would present it to you once again. You were to also exchange a weapon heirloom of your own, deciding on your father’s longsword that was engraved with the family name, normally kept safe in the scabbard attached to your belt.

You thought back to conversation after Loki had proposed, how you needed to reveal to Loki your real name, the name blessed upon you from the order as a way of acknowledging your new self, the one that you would choose to be. If there were to be no more secrets between the you and Loki, no lies, no hiding in the shadows now that you were to be married, it felt like the proper way to start.

“You mean to say, you gave me a false name, from before?”  Loki had asked, eyeing you warily.

“Well, not really.” You looked down at your hands, which were twitching a bit nervously. “That was the name my mother gave me, but my father wanted me to have a different one, when I entered the order,” you explained, glancing up to watch his reaction carefully. “When I was initiated, I was given the opportunity to choose a new name. My father suggested one he had always wanted for me, after a famous assassin who lived long ago on Midgard, and I took a liking to it.”

“Ah, that’s why I wouldn’t have realized you were lying to me then,” Loki said, more to himself than you.

You nodded. “So you aren’t upset?” you confirmed, feeling a weight lift from your shoulders.

“Of course not,” he replied easily, waving a hand dismissively, attention shifting back to you. “I am relieved though. For a moment I thought you had figured a way to bypass my domain. If you had been truly lying about your identity, I would have detected it. I’m glad to know that everything is still working properly.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle and Loki’s face softened at the sound. He leaned in closer to you, his breath tickling your cheeks.

“May I know your true identity then, assassin?”

You smiled. “Aveline.”

~

You could feel the drums through your shoes before you heard them. The grand throne room had been transformed and filled with gods and goddess and nobility, just as it had been with Thor’s wedding. You hadn’t wanted a spectacle, and neither did Loki, but Frigga and Freyja certainly wanted to make an event of it - and there was no telling them no.

Weddings in Asgard, you had discovered, were more relaxed than any other weddings you had experienced before. They were a constant stream of fun, full of chanting and music being belted from pan flutes, horn pipes, lurs, drums, and lyres. People danced, ate, drank, and socialized before, during, and after the ceremonies. There was never a dull moment to be had.

You desperately scanned the massive crowd for your groom, looking for his familiar tall lithe form and dark hair. When you found him, standing right in the middle of the room beside his brother, both dressed in their finest leathers and capes flowing back behind them, your heart stopped. Freyja tugged you forward towards them, her hand on your arm a most welcome anchor.

When Loki spotted you himself, he did a double take. His viridescent eyes gazed longingly at you, full of wonder. Impatient for you to walk the rest of the way to his spot, he promptly made his way towards you. A face-splitting grin spread across his face when he met up to you and you found yourself mirroring the look. He suddenly swooped you up into his arms, carrying you the rest of the way to Thor as people cheered and toasted at the action. The gods laughed cheerfully and gathered as Loki spun you around, showing off his prized bride to everyone, moving in perfect timing to the music. They were, no doubt, relieved and amazed to see Loki in such a joyous mood. Everyone relaxed knowing that the possibility of him causing havoc and mischief during this event was quite low.

He finally placed you back down onto your feet, his eyes bright and eager. Thor’s smile was equally as grand, the happiness for his brother no doubt showing on his face.

“Thor?” you inquired breathlessly, raising a brow at him, Loki’s enthusiasm completely taking your breath away.

“It was the best I could find,” he whispered into your ear, his tone such a giddiness you had never heard before. “There would be no way in Hel I would have Odin conduct my wedding.” He then nodded towards his brother, who did the same in return. Loki unsheathed his dagger in one smooth motion, holding the blade up skywards.

 _It’s time. This is it._ You felt a light heat rise up your neck and flush your cheeks.

“This dagger,” Thor began, his booming voice being no doubt loud enough for everyone in the golden chamber to hear despite the continuously playing music, the beat of which finding its rhythm with your heart, “will be transferred to Loki’s bride, so that she may hold it in trust for herself, and for her future sons and daughters.”

You tried to ignore the small twinge of regret in your chest at the mentioning of children, the feeling quickly diminishing as your attention returned to Loki’s features. You hadn’t yet seriously discussed the subject with him yet, but you knew the proper time would come. For now, he was all that mattered. _Everything will work out._

Freyja then walked forward, your father’s sword carefully balanced on her hands. “And now,” Thor continued, this time directly to you, “you must present your own sword to your groom, so that the father’s protection over you may be transferred over to your new husband.”

You turned towards Freyja, accepting your father’s sword with a smile and holding just as Loki had done with his dagger. You both then slowly swapped the blades, feeling the hilt of Loki’s dagger find home in your hands as you released the other.

“Now the rings!” Thor continued, pulling out two wedding bands from his pocket, placing one which displayed brilliant green gems onto Loki’s new sword, and the other, made from magnificent dwarven gold onto your dagger.

Thor placed his hands on either side of Loki’s face, forcing him to look him straight into his eyes. “Loki. Brother. Do you swear to all gods present, that you want to marry this woman?”

“I swear,” Loki answered, his brilliant green eyes intense, his face set, “with the gods here as my witnesses.” Thor nodded ever so slightly, his lips curving into a pleased smile.

“Aveline.” Thor turned toward you, placing his hands on your face and forcing your attention onto him. You swallowed hard as your eyes met his deep blue ones, realizing that they held knowledge that you would never comprehend, shocking you. He would know if you spoke the truth. _He will make a fine Allfather one day_ , you couldn’t help but think. _Though perhaps in a few more years_. “Do you swear to all gods present, that you want to marry this man?”

Without a moment’s hesitation you answered, “I swear, with the gods here as my witnesses.”

Thor nodded in approval and you could see Loki’s mouth curve up from the corners of your eyes.

Following Loki’s lead, you then carefully crossed blades, reaching up and plucking the wedding band from the sharpened tips. You slowly slipped your new emerald-encrusted band onto your fourth finger, finding it surprisingly heavy, but most welcome. 

“You are then married!” Thor announced joyously, causing a new round of deafening cheering to erupt from around you and more kegs of ale to be opened. You both eagerly handed Thor the blades as Loki pulled you into himself, arms a steel grip around your waist as his lips were pressed against yours, in a passionate kiss that you would feel linger even after it was over.

“I love you,” you said to him, barely hearing your words over thunderous celebration occurring around you.

He leaned in, placing his lips by your ear so that you could more properly hear his response. 

“And I love you,” he replied before chuckling lightly. “I hope you realize this means the only way you'll be rid of me now is to kill me, a feat none have managed,” he joked before pulling back and leading you into the festivities.


End file.
